


(Not) A White Lie

by SkyFallSlayer



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dark, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Artwork by me, Blood and Injury, Depression, Ed has pstd, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Found Family, Hughes Gets depressed, Human Transmutation, Hurt Edward Elric, Hurt Everyone, Hurt Maes Hughes, Hurt Roy Mustang, I mean this kid just watched this man die, Long Lost/Secret Relatives, Maes Hughes Lives, Nightmares, Other, Parental Maes Hughes, Parental Riza Hawkeye, Parental Roy Mustang, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Torture, Psychological Trauma, Soul Bond, Temporary Character Death, These people need hugs, artwork now included, so how could he not?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:48:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 45,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26727700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyFallSlayer/pseuds/SkyFallSlayer
Summary: Hughes lives after being shot, and it was all thanks to Edward. However, the country thinks he's dead, and it's up to Hughes and Ed to keep it that way, until they uncover the biggest threat that lies upon the military. How long can Hughes stay "dead"? And can Ed keep this a secret from everyone he knows?An AU where Ed ends up arriving in Central earlier, and saves Hughes from dying in a phone booth… but at a cost.(Now with artwork/Artwork by me/ Update: Artwork on Chapter 2 and 3/More added soon)
Relationships: Alphonse Elric & Edward Elric, Edward Elric & Maes Hughes, Edward Elric & Maria Ross, Edward Elric & Riza Hawkeye, Edward Elric & Roy Mustang, Edward Elric & Team Mustang, Elicia Hughes & Maes Hughes, Gracia Hughes/Maes Hughes, Maes Hughes & Maria Ross, Maes Hughes & Roy Mustang, Maes Hughes & Team Mustang
Comments: 111
Kudos: 310





	1. Prologue: What Did You Do?

**Author's Note:**

> Another Fma fic? ***Gasp!*** What a surprise...
> 
> I honestly couldn't help myself, this idea popped in my head and now I can't get rid of it. 
> 
> So I know there's a lot of fics about Hughes surviving after being shot, and goes into hiding, and etc. But I decided to take that and add my own little twist. Oh, and I _might_ have involved Ed in Hughes' not dying act...
> 
> Don't sue me. Heh, heh. Anyway, enjoy the story. Let's see where this one goes.

**__ **

_“This is it….”_

The sacred red liquid poured out of the bullet wound in his chest. His body was so numb that he couldn’t even feel it, nor could he feel the cold ground of the phonebooth he was laying in.

_“This is it. I’m going to die… I’m never going to see my family again…”_

His eyelids felt heavy, and he could hear his best friend’s voice over the line of the phone. The man sounded frantic, scared, and he so desperately wanted to croak the words, ‘Help me’, but couldn’t.

_“I’m sorry, Roy. Looks like I won’t get to see you in the Fuhrer’s uniform…”_

A groan escaped his chapped lips, just as the shapeshifter placed the phone back onto its hook, shutting the booth’s doors closed with a sadistic grin. He mentally cursed, and wanted to cry as he saw the family photo he dropped be soured in his own blood.

_“I’m so sorry Elicia, Gracia… Looks like I won’t be home early like I promised I would.”_

His lower lip quivered, just as his heart felt tight, almost like someone had their hand around it and gave it a strong squeeze. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, couldn’t choke up a single word as he knew this was it. He was going to die in the most non heroic way possible. Maybe this is what he gets for being a tainted soldier in Ishval.

_“I’m so sorry everyone…”_

His eyes suddenly closed completely, and his mind went blank, and he went silent like a mime. All he saw was a pit of darkness that didn’t belong.

Darkness.

Darkness.

Darkness.

Darkness.

Darkness.

A voice.

A voice.

Light.

Light.

He could see something, feel something. It was light, but it wasn’t the warm light he was promised in the afterlife. No, it was cold, it was numb, and he could hear someone calling out to him. It was familiar… but why? He doesn’t recall knowing anyone who passed recently, so why is it familiar? And why is the welcoming light now cold and numb?

“-ughes!”

_“Who is that?”_

“Hughes!! Wake up!”

_“Wait… is that?”_

“Wake up! We’ve got to go!!”

_“Wait… Ed?”_

No… that can’t be right. Ed can’t be dead, he just saw him last week. That can’t be right! Not to mention the boy was supposed to be on the other side of the country, so why would he be here in Central?

“Wake up, Hughes!! Come on!!”

He groans, eyes opening slowly, wincing at the tiny bit of artificial light from the street lamp beside him. He squinted at the silhouette in front of him, trying to make out who it really was. His suspicions were confirmed to be right, it was the feisty young blonde who he came to consider as a son. The boy looked as frantic as Roy sounded over the phone, his gold eyes showed it, yet… he looked worn out. Why though? His skin was unusually pale, his hair ragged and stuck to his sweaty cheeks, and he could see blood was seeping out of the corner of his lips. Should he be scared by seeing all that?

“Good, you’re awake! We have to get moving! I don’t know if Envy will return or not.” Ed said, panicking.

He could see blood all over the boy’s hands, and some had stained the front of his shirt. What was going on? What’s with all the blood? Was he injured himself? Did that shapeshifter get to him as well? Were they both officially dead? He sure hopes not.

“E-E-Ed…?” He croaked, feeling himself fade again.

“Don’t close your eyes! Hang on, I’m going to try to get you out of here.”

He didn’t know how, but the boy had managed to get a good grip on him, slinging his arm around his neck as they started to move somewhat fast. He knew the boy was struggling a bit, and he knew he was pretty much dead weight as Ed dragged him across the sidewalk, and into Central City.

_“Am I dreaming? This can’t be real. I’m dead…”_

As he should be. He died, he passed on to the afterlife, so how come he was here with Edward, and was being dragged around the city? What was going on? Was this all just a dream? A nightmare? Or was Ed really dead too? He was desperately hoping it wasn’t the latter, but he honestly wasn’t sure what to think right now with his overly foggy mind. Soon, they found themselves speeding down a dirty, old alleyway when he realized he could actually feel the harsh wind against his skin.

He winced at how cold it felt, coming to a conclusion that both his military jacket and undershirt were torn open, allowing the cold to seep in. He honestly hated it, and wishes to close it shut, to get the warmth he craved. He then allowed himself to look down with his cloudy green eyes, ready to take his numb hand to close it, only to find something that wasn’t there before.

Written in blood was what looked like a scribble, or better yet, an alchemist’s seal. He may not know anything about alchemy, but he’s been around enough alchemists to know a thing or two about it, and he recognizes this strange symbol immediately. He’s only seen it once in his life, and it was drawn on a suit of armor to keep a kid inside. It was a blood seal. A blood seal to trap people’s souls.

“E-Ed…” He croaked, the boy looking his way from the corner of his eye. “W-What… What did you do?”

He didn’t even wait for an answer, because he soon found himself slipping off Ed’s shoulder, falling straight for the ground, ignoring the kid’s pleaing voice. And once again…

He was met with darkness.


	2. Pay The Toll Once More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed's POV on how he saves Hughes after witnessing his attempted murder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I want to thank everyone reading this. I was so surprised when I woke up and found out this story was suddenly getting a lot of attention. So thank you for reading this again, and enjoy.

**-A Few Hours Earlier-**

Ed hopped off the train without his other usual half. That's right, the Fullmetal Alchemist had traveled back from his trip alone. Over a week ago, after getting his arm repaired by Winry in the hospital, the three of them had set out for Rush Valley and Dublith.

Due to finding no other leads on getting their bodies back, and not wanting to stay in either city because, A) One was home to all gearheads that wanted to take his arm apart, and B) He's not sure if he'd survive another week with Teacher (and that woman was indeed scary).

Before he and Al left, Hughes told them both he was going to help out in their research for getting their bodies back, which they both were internally grateful for.

So it was then decided that he was going to travel back to Central to check in with the older man. The research for the stone was quite sensitive, especially after discovering what it was truly made up of, and came to a conclusion it was probably not the best to talk over the phone about it. Al agreed to travel back and stay with Winry in Rush Valley for a few days to relax after being held hostage by chimeras, and a homunculus that goes by Greed.

Ed was glad that his brother was taking a break, and was also glad that he was finally going to get back to work with finding a _new_ way of getting their bodies back. _Sigh._ That'll be fun.

On a side note, Ed could enjoy seeing Central commands before the bastard Colonel moves there.

The boy snickered at the thought of Mustang being jealous that he'll be staying at the base for a few days with Hughes, and hanging out with the old men that were Generals (and maybe get on their good side for the future?). Oh yeah… he would be jealous.

Ed sighed, readjusting his suitcase as he walked. Central was indeed huge, and there were plenty of times that when him and Al visited, they would get lost. He was just hoping he wouldn’t this time. Time was precious, and Ed didn’t want to waste anymore time until he found a way to restore his and his baby brother’s bodies.

He groaned. _“God damn it! It’s been nearly four years already, and I still haven’t gotten any legit ways of getting our bodies back! Why is this so fucking hard?!”_

It’s true, he was eleven when he committed the ultimate alchemist’s sin, human transmutation (and on top of that, soul bonding). It took him a year to get him a new arm, and then join the military. Since then, it’s been three long years in the military, three hard working years that makes him want to go gray early. He was fourteen going on fifteen, but why did it feel like he was fourteen going on _fifty?_ It wasn’t fair.

He reached up with his free hand to touch the top of his head. He starts to wonder if he’ll get gray hair before his commanding officer the way his stress levels are going. It wasn’t fair. Mustang just gets to sit in a chair all day, and sign- _fuckingHE_ was the one that was traveling around and sleeping in fields to get shit done, so why does he have to suffer with all the stress?

Another groan, but this time a vicious growl in his stomach came out with it. His cheeks flushed pink out of embarrassment. He was in public for crying out loud! And some people who were passing by gave him strange looks.

“ _I guess I could eat.”_ He told himself, wondering. _“Wait, did I even eat anything today?”_

He shook his head and continued to walk, his eyes scanning for any place to eat, only finding a cafe under what look like apartment buildings, and took his chance. He really didn’t care at this point. If it was only tea and cookies, then you bet your ass that he’ll stuff his face with tea and cookies (He was kind of glad Al wasn’t here to scold him for eating dessert before any kind of meal).

He wandered inside, it was a small place where you could seat yourself and that’s what he did. He found a place where he was far away from a group of people, only then waiting until he was given a menu by a pretty 20 year old.

“Hello, sir. Welcome to Blue Bottle.” She said, joyfully.

“Uh, thanks.” Ed replies, flipping through the menu. It was split in three different sections, one for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

“Since it’s passed five o’clock already, I just want to tell you that lunch items are off the table. Although, we can still make you some breakfast items. We still have some eggs and sausages left.”

His stomach nearly growled at the mention of meat and protein. “That actually sounds good, I’ll take a plate of that.” He hands her the menu back.

“Very good choice. Would you like anything else to drink, or is water fine?”

“Uh, do you have herbal tea?”

“We sure do.”

“Then I’ll take some of that.” He wonders if it’s as good as when Hawkeye makes it. That woman really knows how to make a good cup of tea.

“Sounds great.” She takes a step away, only to perk up when remembering something. “One more thing, sir. Not to be nosy or anything, but I see you have a suitcase with you, are you a traveler?”

Ed nods slowly. “Yeah, I just arrived today.”

“Well if you’re looking for a place to stay, upstairs we’re renting out rooms in our inn to our customers for a reasonable price. Would you like to rent a room for a few nights?”

Ed stopped to think about it for a moment, he could always stay with Hughes, however he’s already asked the man too much at this point. Staying with him is the last thing he needs to do. “Yeah, I’ll take a room.”

“Wonderful. How long will you be staying?”

“Not sure…” He scratches the back of his neck in thought. “Just bill me for three nights for now.”

“I’ll get right to it. And your meal should be out soon.”

“Thanks.”

She left and he sunk into his chair, drawing his attention to looking through a window to the outside world. He sighed, resting his chin on his hand, letting him drift off. He starts wondering if he’ll ever get his body back without the help of the stone. Human lives being fused into the stone was something he didn’t want to tamper with.

_**“But you tampered with your own brother’s life.”** _

His eyes went wide, before shutting them tight. _“Damn. Shut up.”_

_**“You put his soul in a meaningless body. What kind of older brother does that?”** _

He mentally cursed. Damn his conscience. He knew Al didn’t blame him, but still… Why'd it hurt so much then?

Eventually, his meal came out along with his room key. He thanked the waitress, and ate his food and drank his tea in silence (the tea wasn’t good as Hawkeye’s, but it was close enough). After eating, he went back outside and traveled up the set of stairs next to the building. According to the waitress, that’s where the inn was. He opened the door, and was met with a hallway filled up with doors, one that was going to be his for a few nights. He followed the number on the key, and opened it inside, stunned by how nice it was.

A bit outdated with the furniture and decor, but still pretty nice for being a cheap inn. A small kitchenette tucked into one of the corners, a closed off bathroom, a bed in another corner with a couch in the middle of the room. It kind of reminded him of when him and Al stayed in the military dorm rooms for a while, back when he mostly stayed in the East.

He plopped on the bed, it bouncing slightly when he fell on top. It was quite comfortable actually, much more comfortable than sleeping on a train or a grassy field. He smiled, feeling like he might daze off when his mind started to yell at him.

 _“Oh, that’s right. I was going to see Hughes! What time is it?”_ He pulled his pocket watch out, popping it open to check the time. It was a few minutes after 8, and Ed scolded himself. _“Idiot! You lost track of time.”_

He shot out of bed, leaving his suitcase here but taking the key with him. _“I knew I should ask her if they had coffee. Stupid herbal tea…”_ Maybe it really was like the markswoman’s tea. Hawkeye always knew how to get someone to relax with only one sip.

Night had just touched the sky, and Ed scolded himself again. He might miss an opportunity to talk to Hughes, and like he said earlier, time was precious. Even if they both only managed to get _one_ sentence out, it was still a progression that he was going to take to heart. He traveled down the ghost town streets, everyone already home for the day, and Ed was grateful that no one was going to get in his way. He ran, and ran, he could see the base in his line of sight, smiling because he was almost there-

A **gunshot** rang through the night.

The blonde froze, stopping dead in his tracks. Judging from where he heard it from, it was coming from a small park next to him. Was it a robbery? Or did someone just shoot someone randomly while taking a late night stroll? He did know, and as much as he would have liked to keep going, his curiosity got the best of him.

He groaned for the third time today. _“Damn my curious mind!!”_

The alchemist ran away from the base, heading into the public park, keeping a good, but quiet pace in case he was to end up face-to-face with the shooter. He jogged around a few bushes, passed a few trees, near the sidewalk where Gracia was and-

Wait...

Gracia?

Ed stopped again, leaning against a tree to stare at a figure by the phone booth. The green eyed and honey brown hair woman was standing there with a malicious grin, twirling a gun in her hand.

Gun.

Gracia.

Gun plus Gracia equals _that-doesn’t-make-any-fucking-sense._

Why would an innocent housewife need a gun? Was she that paranoid of being home alone? Or did every military spouse have to have one? But even when he ran all those thoughts in his head, it still came up short. None of them made any sense. And why would she bring a gun to a park? And was she the one that fired a shot? Why though?

“Grac-” He begins, only to watch as the kind woman burst into a red light that traveled from her feet and up to her head. Gracia was then replaced by someone he fought recently in the now collapsed research lab, a homunculus named Envy.

He gasps quietly, hiding behind the tree. He then wishes he wasn’t wearing red at this point, and hoped that this big oak tree would provide him some cover. He stayed silent and listened, hearing the phone booth’s doors being shut, and a set of footsteps disappear. Did he dare to look? And why did Envy disguise himself as Gracia? Unless…

His stomach dropped, and he didn’t even give himself a chance to look if he was in the clear, he just bolted out of his hiding spot. He ran straight up to the booth, seeing a large puddle of blood pooling out from under, noticing that a family photo was being soiled in it. He choked on air, and threw the doors open, dread hit him hard. The man he was supposed to be visiting today was now lying in the phone booth, with a noticeably large bullet wound in his chest.

He wanted to vomit, this was almost as bad as seeing his failed transmutation’s corpse. He gagged, but managed to fall down to his knees and grab him by the shoulders. “Hughes?! Hughes?! Can you hear me?” He yelled, worriedly.

Nothing.

He could hear nothing but the drips of blood coming out of the man’s wound.

“Fuck…” He swallowed the bile in his throat, and felt the man’s pulse on his neck. Nothing again. “Shit! And he’s cold too. Think, Elric, Think… he just got shot, I could call an ambulance and give him CPR. No… wait… I can’t…”

He was dead, and even if he could revive him there was no way the man could survive much longer with a wound so close to his heart. There was no way, no way possible. So what the hell was he going to do?!

He let out a frustrated cry. “There’s got to be something I can do! Come on, you’re a prodigy! Use your brain!!” He scolded, gripping his hair that was being stained with Hughes’ blood. “Think… he just got shot, so I can…” Ed froze once more. “He just got shot, he just died, which means… his soul still could be lingering around, I could save him.”

Ed knows what to do, he's done it before, and that was to call someone's soul back. Although he's only done it _once,_ and placed a soul into a suit of armor, he's never called a person's soul back to the original body. This… this was going to be tricky, and scary.

Ed grit his teeth, memories of _that_ night flooded in. His leg, his arm, his brother's body, the gate, the truth-

The truth.

There was no doubt it'll be waiting for him on the other side, ready to take yet another piece from him. He promised Al that he was done with the gate, he said he wouldn't go back and let himself get hurt again. Looks like he might have to break that right now.

He couldn't let the man he got to know and care about die, this man had a family, he had friends, people who rely on him. He especially couldn't let him die because he was the one who got him involved with something big. Ed didn't even need to know the whole story to know that it was _his_ fault that he was now lying dead in the booth.

His lower lip trembled, tightening his fists together. _"Al… I'm sorry, but I can't let Hughes die."_

Ed quickly shredded his left glove, freeing his flesh hand. He then proceeded to roll up his sleeve, and cut his hand on a sharp part of his automail. He remembers reading that in order to bond a soul, you needed to use your own blood, a blood that had energy and was full of life.

He tore open Hughes' uniform and undershirt, revealing the extent of the man’s injuries. Ed really didn’t know what harmed the bullet had done, and really wanted to check, but he didn’t have any more time to waste. He squeezed his flesh hand together, letting his fresh blood doused his fingertips, and began to draw a blood seal. He didn’t pay attention to the details, just like he did with Al’s, he just drew the seal on the Lieutenant Colonel’s chest, hoping he could still call his lingering soul back.

Ed clapped his hands, there was no turning back now.

_“I’m so sorry, Al…. Forgive me.”_

Then he activated the circle.

***Break***

Ed sucked in a breath, feeling his lungs cry for it as his consciousness passed through the gate. He heard his door close behind him, and he opened his eyes to the very same white room he stood in nearly four years ago. He already knew the routine. It was still imprinted in his mind, and was still haunting his dreams and nightmares. He knew what was going to happen, and he knew _who_ to expect.

**“Well… you’re back for a third time. I’m actually surprised by this.”**

_“Speak of the devil.”_

Ed frowned. “Well, it looks like you can't get rid of me. Can’t you, Truth?”

The being of pure white light sat in front of him, sitting in the most mocking way possible; And it was especially mocking when he sat there with the teenager’s flesh right arm and left leg. The leg he paid for his mother’s revival, and his right arm for the soul bonding. Two tolls, and he was about to pay for another.

**“I guess not. Why are you here? Don’t tell me you’re trying to bind another soul again? Are you trying to recreate what you did to your brother?”**

Ed chuckled quietly. “Well… I don’t exactly have another suit of armor lying around, and there’s no way I’m binding Hughes’ soul to the phone booth. That’ll be ridiculous.”

**“Then what are you bonding it to?”**

“His body.” He says, flat out, becoming more serious. “He still has a workable body, plus, his soul is still lingering around, it hasn’t even been ten minutes yet.”

 **“True. The man’s soul hasn’t passed on yet. So yes, you can still bring his soul back to his original body.”** Truth held up one finger, and grinned. **“But, You still need to pay a toll. So what will your equivalent exchange be this time, young alchemist?”**

He frowned even more, hating this part. “What do you want?”

**“Oh, no counter offer?”**

“Look, my friend is dying, and he needs help fast. So just tell me what you want me to give you.” He was met with silence afterwards, and Ed wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Truth saying silent was probably not the best sign. “Well? Are you going to tell me or not?! I don’t have all day!”

**“Relax. I’ve never had someone come through the gate three times before. This is all very exciting for me.”**

_Ed growled. _“Oh god…”__

**“Okay, I’ve made my decision, I know what I’m going to take from you.”**

“And that is… what exactly?” He raised a skeptical eyebrow.

Truth waved his finger. **“Nah, ah ah… that’s a surprise for you to find out on your own.”**

His gold eyes go wide with both shock and rage. “What?! Why not?!”

**“I gave you a free pass the last two times. So I decided I’m not going to tell you.”**

Ed wanted to argue, but was cut off when he felt the room shake a bit. He looked around in confusion. “What the?”

**“Good luck, young alchemist.”**

Truth stood up, and the room seemed to grow dark on cue. Truth started to almost glitch, and turn black, and it’s grin grew even more creepy. It soon was in front of Ed, just as the gate started making a crackling noise. The boy was suddenly petrified in a fear he didn’t think he had.

**“And have fun. Because you and that man are going to have some interesting events up ahead.”**

The gate behind him opened, and Truth gave him a hard shove. He was never met with the black hands that were supposed to grab him, but instead all he met was a freefall into a black void. He heard nothing but scary cries and harsh screaming, watching as a giant eye above him turn into black ink that made him cough and choke, as he tried to reach out for his mother that was teasing him….

Ed gasps again, only this time getting smacked back into reality. Before he could even begin to process what had just happened, he proceeded to vomit a pint of blood. It was warm and sticky, and tasted like iron. He felt awful too. He was dizzy and felt pale. He felt mentally and physically drained. What exactly just happened at the gate? What did Truth do to him?

He then froze. “Hughes…”

He looked up from where he was sitting, his body covered in the man’s blood as well as his own, looking straight at the soldier he hoped he revived just in time.

He really hoped he did. “Hughes!” He yelled, bringing up his hand to check for a pulse.

His heart skipped a beat when he felt just a tiny bit of one. It was there. Hughes had a pulse, it was weak and slow, but it was there. Hughes was alive once more.

Ed almost wanted to jump up and celebrate that he was alive, but he had no time to party at this very moment. He touched his shoulders gently, feeling a tiny bit of warmth. “Hughes!! Wake up!”

 _“Please open your eyes, please open your eyes, please open your eyes-”_ He chanted over and over again to himself.

“Wake up! We’ve got to go!!” Ed yelled, with a strong sense of panic. “Wake up, Hughes!! Come on!!”

He _almost_ wanted to give the poor man a hug when he saw those green eyes flutter open, along with a terrible sounding groan. He was squinting, and he could tell he was in a lot of pain, but he was awake and that’s all that matters at this point. Now, he has to get him out of here, out of the park and away from the attempted murder scene. He didn’t know if Envy would return or not, or maybe the police will show up and find out what Ed had done. It was selfish, but Ed couldn’t afford getting arrested over the taboo he just committed.

"Good, you’re awake! We have to get moving! I don’t know if Envy will return or not.” Ed said, panicking. He saw Hughes look at him weirdly, studying him like a work of art.

“E-E-Ed…?” Hughes croaked, his voice sounding dry and hoarse.

The blonde panicked once more when he saw Hughes start to close his eyes. “Don’t close your eyes! Hang on, I’m going to try to get you out of here.”

any-fucking-time right now, all that mattered to the prodigy was to get Hughes somewhere safe, but where?

 _“The inn.”_ He thought, remembering that there was an entrance separated from the rest of the cafe. It wasn’t perfect, and Ed could be seen by guests staying there, but he didn’t have much of a choice. He didn’t have the full story yet. Why did Hughes get shot by Envy? And why was Hughes in a phonebooth to begin with and not in the base? So many questions that he'll just have to ask later. Right now it was _his_ job to get Hughes safe, and get him the help he needs.

Ed miraculously manages to sling Hughes’ arm around his neck, pulling the extra weight that nearly made his knees buckle. He felt so weak, and he didn’t understand why. He doesn't recall feeling this weak when he bounded his brother’s soul. They were off, speed walking/jogging across the streets of Central. He racked his fuzzy head on which way the inn was, readjusting Hughes a few times as he decided it was best to cut through an alleyway, to make sure they wouldn’t be seen.

His lungs burned and he felt like he might vomit again, his vision going in and out rather fast. _“No, no, no, no. I can’t pass out yet, I can’t pass out yet, I can’t pass out y-”_

“E-Ed…” Hughes said beside him.

He turned and faced him, meeting a face with so many emotions. Confusion, concern, fear, and there was almost a hint of anger underneath it all.

Hughes' eyes soon clouded over more, and he paled even more. “W-What… What did you do?”

Ed heart skipped a beat, and almost did again when Hughes started slipping off his shoulder. “Hey, Hey, Hey! Stay with me! Stay with me, Hughes!” He pleaded, just as the body hit the ground.

The boy dropped right next to him, immediately checking his pulse again. It was still there, but the man was out like a light and his wound was starting to leak again. _“Shit! I forgot about that! Idiot!”_

He shrugged off his red coat, tying it around Hughes’ body, securing it before pulling him to his arms again. Ed started speed racing, almost running now as he made his way back to the inn. Up the difficult flight of stairs, and inside the hallway seemed nearly impossible, but he did it and it was all thanks to adrenaline. He took the key and opened the door, slamming it shut, not caring if he woke anyone else up from their sleep. Ed then placed Hughes on the nearby couch, collapsing on the floor next to him.

Heavy pants came out of his mouth, feeling so exhausting that he wanted to curl up in bed and sleep forever. His gold eyes soon found his way to Hughes’ chest, and no, they weren’t trained on the wound, but trained on the scribble out of blood. It was nearly identical to how he made Al’s, but it honestly looked almost messier in some way.

The boy’s mind tried to figure out what truly happened tonight, and it all came back to what Hughes had said to him moments ago…

_**“W-What… What did you do?”** _

Ed sighed, feeling his head start to pound like a drum. _“He’s right. What did I just do?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is just beginning, and readers... what do you think Ed might have lost? Tell me what you think down below. Thanks for reading, and see you soon!


	3. More Questions Than Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed tries to figure out what he lost to the gate while waiting for Hughes to wake up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Warning: Blood & Gestures to mass suicide (Ishval)***
> 
> **(Update: 1/8/21- Artwork added by me)**

****

**“What did I do? What did I do? What did I do?-”**

Ed repeated those same words over and over again as he rummaged through his room, trying to find something to use to treat the wounded soldier that was bleeding all over his couch. His brain was fuzzy, and his vision still blurred from time-to-time but that wasn’t going to stop him from helping his friend.

**“What did I do? What did I do? What did I do?-”**

He felt his overgrown bangs stick to his sweaty face, he felt the dry blood all over his mouth, he felt his body grow weaker and weaker with each step he took. There had to be something he could use to stop the blood. There has to be something he could use! Anything would be helpful.

**“What did I do? What did I do? What did I do?-”**

He let out a frustrated groan, turning around to look at the room again. What could he use to stop the bleeding? Something that he knew would be sanitary enough. What could he use? His eyes soon landed on his bed, perking up at a thought.

“Of course, bed sheets.” He said to himself, rushing over.

He knew they’ll be clean enough to use. Once he makes sure Hughes is not bleeding anymore, he’ll have to go out and find some real medical supplies. As long as it was safe to go out…. What if Envy knew he was here? What if he was coming after them? What if-

He shook his head. “I don’t have time for that! Gotta save Hughes!”

He threw the quilt and pillows off the bed, letting them fall to the floor. He then proceeds to peel off the sheets, gathering them up into his arms, before wobbling over to the unconscious man.

**“What did I do? What did I do? What did I do?-”**

He set them down on the coffee table, then proceeded to bolt off into the kitchen, throwing open all the cabinets. His eyes scanned for a bowl, something deep enough to hold a lot of water. He did, but it was holding all the fresh fruit the inn happily provided. Ed frowns, _“So sorry…”_ He empties the bowl, and runs in under the faucet, filling it up to the desired height. He runs back to the couch, sitting on his knees beside Hughes, taking a look.

The red coat he tied around the man back in the alleyway was already a much darker color, much more blood than he thought it would be. He frowns even more, “ _It must be an enter and exit wound. Fuck. There’s no more time to waste.”_

He grabs the sheets off the table, placing them into his lap, clapping his hands together so he could transmute some bandages. He heard the familiar crisp sound from his palms, before bringing them down on the _not-going-to-be_ white sheets soon. He watched the light exploded, watching as his palms change the shape, watching them-

A sharp knife felt like it was in his chest.

He couldn’t breathe.

He felt numb, yet…. So very cold.

An electrifying shock went up his spine.

Ed suddenly had to turn to his side, and once again, just like back at the phone booth, he vomited up another pint of blood. The crimson liquid went all over the oak floors, making it sticky and stained. The blood felt unusually hot inside his mouth, and it made his throat burn as the metallic taste came back in ten folds.

It hurt.

It was hot.

It tasted strange and unfamiliar.

His mind became even fuzzier, and so did his vision as his amber eyes went in and out of focus.

He could only stare and wonder…

**“What did I do? What did I do? What did I do?-”**

****

He coughed, sounding so dry and hurtful, almost like he had a bad case of bronchitis. He touched his chest, and winced in pain. Oh god… he felt **horrible. Awful.** He hasn’t felt this bad since… well… never actually. Sure, he’s been through surgery, and lost two limbs, but that was different. It was a different kind of pain, and different feeling. No,... this was _very_ different. It was so different, it belongs in its own category (whatever _this_ was). But he’ll have to shove it to the side now, he had another problem to deal with.

He looks down in his lap, finding that he did make the bandages, but they weren’t as ‘smooth’ as it usually is. His transmutation looked… off. He shook his head again, he hated how side track he could get. Whether it was perfect or not, they were still the bandages he needed.

He unties his coat from Hughes wound, taking a look at it. He could honestly see why he died, it was near his heart and by a vital vain, no wonder he bled to death. Ed frowned with pity, something he wasn’t used to showing, but he had time to keep his pride up. His fingers felt around, it wasn’t too big, but it looked deep, and he wondered if it was an enter and exit wound. He shrugged the man’s uniform off, reaching around to his back to find the wound went all the way through.

 _“Sorry Hughes. Until I get some proper supplies, I’m not going to be able to stitch you up.”_ He just hopes the bullet wasn’t still lodged in there.

He dips some of the bandages into the bowl of water, carefully cleaning the wound, making sure he doesn’t destroy the blood rune nearby. He cleans the back and the front, before taking the remaining tattered sheets and wraps them around his body, knotting it tightly shut. It felt like a bit of weight off his shoulders when he checked his pulse again, finding it was still beating. He sighed with relief, checking Hughes’ temper with his flesh hand. Warm, but not hot.

 _“He’s going to get a fever if I’m not careful.”_ He headed back into the kitchen again, grabbing a dish towel off the oven handle, running it under some cold water. He rings it out just a bit, before coming back and placing it on the man’s sweaty head. To make him more comfortable, he took his glasses off, looking so crooked and crack. He sighed again, shoving them into his pocket, and collapsing into a chair.

They both looked like shit. Both of them were covered in blood and sweat. Ed was honestly too afraid to leave to go take a shower right now, he didn’t want to leave and come back to finding a corpse on his couch. So the prodigy just sat there, thinking over everything that led up to this night. It was obvious that something serious happened back at HQ for Hughes not to even make a phone call from his office, and who was he calling? His wife?

He shook his head. No. That wouldn’t make any sense. Was it the Colonel? But why still call from _outside_ the base? Hughes was always calling his commanding officer from his office, so why just stop now? And how come Envy was there? Why did he shoot him? And how did Envy know about Gracia? Thousands of questions filled his mind, ones that he couldn’t find answers for.

 _“Why? What the hell is going on? And how does these homunculus tie into all this?”_ He strokes his chin, letting his mind take over. That is, until he heard a wet cough. His head shot up, and he saw Hughes start to shift a little on the couch.

“Hughes…” He mutters, sliding off his chair and runs over. He kneels next to the green eyed Lieu. Colonel, a look of worry plastered on his face. “Hughes. You awake? Can you hear me?”

The soldier groaned, twitching uncomfortably. He soon peeled his eyes open as slowly as he could, meeting a semi-dark room and a silhouette next to him. It looked familiar, and he felt a wave of deja vu.

“E-Ed?” He croaked, his throat so very dry. He coughed again.

“Yeah it’s me.” Ed replies, standing up. “Hang on, I’ll get you some water.”  
Hughes laid there, almost dozing off before he felt a cool glass press against his lips. “Drink. You’re dehydrated.”

He did, and drank it all before letting out a small moan. “E-Ed.. I can’t really see well…”

“My bad, actually. I haven’t really turned on any lights, and I might have taken your glasses off.” The blonde reached into his pocket, pulling out the spectacles, placing them carefully onto Hughes’ face. “There. Better?”

Hughes blinked a few times, nodding shortly afterwards. “Yeah. I can see.” He took a look at the boy, and even in his bad state, his parental instincts kicked in. “Edward, what the hell happened to you?! You’re covered in blood.” He tries to sit up, but Ed pushes him back down.

“I’m fine. You’re not though, you’ve been shot.” Ed replies, bluntly.

“What?” Hughes looked down at himself, finding the bandages over his wound. He frowns. “I did… I thought I died.” He gasps. “Wait! Don’t tell me you’re dead too?!”

“Whoa, whoa, slow down, I’m not. And neither are you.”

Hughes looked surprised. “I’m not? But I-”

“Well… you did, I just brought you… back…” Ed rubbed the back of his head nervously, his eyes looking somewhere else.

“Ed…” He pauses, shifting a bit so he was sitting up slightly. He wanted to get a better look at the boy. “Ed, what happened? And what do you mean you brought me back?”

**“What did I do? What did I do? What did I do?-”**

Ed tensing didn’t go unnoticed. “Well… I could ask you the same thing.”

“I asked you first.” Hughes’ face turned into one of a stern parent, not a mad one, just one who wanted some answers. “Ed, what happened? What did you do?”

Silence, but Hughes was honestly sort of expecting it (and maybe a tiny outburst?). Soon, the teen found himself sighing, and facing the man.

“Alright, fine. I’ll tell you.” Ed replies, his eyes holding a mixture of fire and guilt. “So you know how I bonded Al’s soul to armor?”

Hughes nods. “Yeah?”

“Well I might have done that with you.”

Green orbs turned into saucers, and he shot up a bit more. “What?!” A sudden wince and a cough left him breathless, as Ed tried to make him lie back again.

“Jeez, Take it easy! Don’t ruin your bandages just yet.”

Hughes coughed again, and laid back, holding his sore throat. “I’m sorry… what?”

Ed frowns, the guilt truly shining now. “Your soul, I called it back. Hence the rune on your chest.”

He blinked and checked himself out, spotting the messy drawn seal. “But I don’t understand, I’m still in my body.”

“According to all the books I’ve read, the human soul lingers around for about five to ten minutes until it crosses to the other side. Fifteen if you're lucky. And since you still had a body, I could just put your soul back inside, unlike Alphonse.”

“Right, Al lost his body. So that's why his soul’s in the armor.”

“Correct.”

“Okay, you answered that question. But _why?_ Why did you do it? And I thought you were still back in the country?”

“For this to make sense, I’ll have to back track.” His eyes glanced away for a sec. “Hughes, I know who shot you.”

Hughes almost bolted upright again if it wasn’t for the kids hands pushing him gently back down. “You do? How?”

“Do you remember when I told you I met two people who attacked me in the fifth laboratory? One of those was the same person who shot you.”

“Seriously?” He tilted his head, thinking. _“That’s a weird coincidence, unless...”_

“Yeah. Anyway, a few days ago, Al was kidnapped by a thing called a homunculus.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Which is..?”

“To be frank… it’s almost like an artificial human being is the best why I describe it.” Ed leans back, letting himself rest against the coffee table. “I didn’t think they existed, until now.”

“So an artificial human?” He scratches his chin. “But that _thing_ had powers or something. It shapeshifted in front of me.”

“I saw. Listen, I came back early without Al, so I could meet up with you, and see if you had anything on the research we gave you. I ended up losing track of time, and headed to HQ later than expected. I eventually heard a gunshot and then spotted you and Envy.”

Hughes eyes him weirdly again. “Envy?”

“That’s what he’s called. I met him and another homunculus called Lust, and the one I met in Dublith was called Greed.”

“Envy, Lust, and Greed? Those are the names of the seven deadly sins.”

Ed looked surprised now. “Oh yeah, you’re right. Wait, does that mean there’s four others?” He lets out a frustrated groan, he was going off fucking track again. “Nevermind. Any questions?”

“Yeah, just one.” Hughes says, looking dead serious again. “If you said that you bonded my soul back just like you did to your brother, I need to know… what did you lose this time?”

**“What did I do? What did I do? What did I do?-”**

He tensed up again. “Hughes.”

“Ed, you lost a limb the last time, which means you lost something again. What was it?” His voice sounded stern, but also very soft and gentle, like it was silently telling him it was okay, and he wouldn’t be too judgy.

Ed’s heart ached at that. His very being craving for that kindness. “I… I don’t actually.”

**“What did I do? What did I do? What did I do?-”**

“Ed?”

“I really don’t.” He looks away. “I’m not missing any limbs, I feel like my organs are still all there. I’m not blind, or missing an eye. I just don’t know. It’s weird.”

“Jeez. I’m not an alchemist, so I’m not sure how to respond to that.”

“You don’t have to. It’s fine.” Ed frowns again, _“Why is he not angry with me?”_

Another pit of silence, and Ed was waiting to be scolding like the child he was, but it never did. Instead, an arm was slung around him, and was pulled a bit closer to someone’s side.

“No offense,... but you’re an idiot.” Hughes said, chuckling softly. “I can’t believe you’d risk your life for me like that, I mean, I know you're selfless, but I didn’t expect something like _this.”_

Ed leaned a bit into the touch, smiling a bit. “What can I say, I’m full of surprises. But seriously, Hughes-” He pulls away, looking up. “You’re not mad?”

“Oh I’m mad. I still can’t believe you would risk losing something again.”

Ed smirks. “What can I say? I’m a handful.”

Hughes’ expression was a cross between angry and pleased. “Don’t _ever_ do that again. Okay? For heaven’s sake, I don’t think you need to be losing anything else.”

“If I can figure out what I lost.” He shakes his head. “Anyway, what happened to _you?_ Why did Envy come after you like that?”

Hughes paled a bit as he recalls what had happened, looking like he might be sick. “I think I found something out I wasn’t supposed to. I came across something with the research notes you gave me.”

He raised his blonde eyebrow high. “Which was…?”

Hughes scratched his chin in thought again, before looking at Ed. “Do you have a map of Amestris?”

“Huh? Why would you need that?”

“Because I found something about this country. So do you have one?”

“I think so, hold on.” Ed got up and walked over to his suitcase. He crouched down and opened it up, rummaging around until he found it. “I’ve got one. I almost forgot I always carry one with me.”

Hughes took the map, and started unfolding it on the coffee table. “Do you have a pen too?”

“Yeah.” Ed swipes a pen out of his suitcase, handing that over too. The soldier begins drawing tiny dots all over the map, making even the prodigy confused. “What are you doing?”

“I’m marking every place that had a large amount of bloodshed, like a war or a tiny breakout of riots made by the military.”

“By the military? Why?”

“You’ll see.” Hughes quickly finishes drawing all the dots, before handing the pen over to the boy. “Here, connect the dots.”

“What?”

“You’ll see.”

Ed didn’t protest any further, and did what he was told to do. He slowly starts connecting the dots, drawing lines with a semi-steady hand. The more he drew and connected, the more fear crept inside him. Soon, he was staring at nothing but something he knew very well. He chokes on a gasp.

“Do you see it?” Hughes asked, even if he knew it was obvious.

“Is that… is that a transmutation circle?” Ed whispers. He couldn’t believe it. It has to be a dream, or a nightmare at least.

“So I’m not crazy.” He pushes his glasses up more. “I’m not even an alchemist, and could see it.”

“H-how? And why?” He looks at Hughes. “How’d you figure this out?”

“I just started looking at the map, looking at possible places for you guys to get your bodies back, and eventually it just clicked with me.” Hughes sighed. “Do you recognize what it is? You’re the alchemist here.”

Ed looks back at the map, thinking. “I’ve seen this before, but where? Hmm…” He freezes, horror in his eyes. “The fifth laboratory. This circle, it’s a transmutation circle used to make a philosopher’s stone.”

Hughes freezes too. “You said a philosopher’s stone made out human lives, right?”

“Correct. This is a world wide transmutation circle to make a giant philosopher’s stone.”

“But why? I mean this can’t be a coincidence Ed.”

“This is _too_ good to be a coincidence.” Ed runs his hands through his hair. “Fuck. Why? Why make a stone? Are the homunculus behind this? That could explain why Envy tried to kill you.”

Hughes frowned at the word ‘tired’, not having the heart to correct the boy after everything he’s done for him. “Whatever or whoever this was, didn’t want me to spread the word. And obviously, the military has something to do with this.”

“B-But… Why the military? What ties the military and the homunculus together?” He looks at the older man for answers.

“Either there’s a homunculus _in _the military, or the homunculus _are_ the military. Either way it’s bad news.”__

__“But, Ishval… you, the Colonel, and Lieutenant Hawkeye, and so many more fought in that war. Does that mean…” Ed looks at the map again. “Does that mean… all of that… was for nothing?”_ _

__Hughes stayed silent, coming to a conclusion that the teenager was right. That war was nothing but a place to store the bodies. Why hadn’t he seen it sooner?_ _

__Ed takes his silence into play, and looks back at him with a bit of pity. “Hughes, anything else you need to tell me? Was it just Envy?”_ _

__He shakes his head. “No, I actually ran into someone else, a woman who attacked me in the library. I put a knife in her head.”_ _

__Ed frowns. “Was she tall, dark hair and wearing a dress?”_ _

__Hughes perked up at the correct description. “Yeah, how’d you know?”_ _

__“That was Lust, and for your information, Homunculus are practically immortal and they can regenerate. I doubt you killed her.”_ _

__“You mean she’s still alive?!”_ _

__“It means she knows what you look like, and what I look like too.” Ed sighs and buries his face into his hands. “This shit is getting deeper and deeper the more we talk.”_ _

__“They know what my wife looks like… and Lieutenant Ross.”_ _

__“Lieutenant Ross?”_ _

__“That was the first person Envy turned into. The only reason I could tell it wasn’t Ross was because she was missing a mole.”_ _

__“So they’re dragging Lieutenant Ross into this? Which means they could pin her or your wife for your murder. Shit, this is so fucked up.”_ _

__“Ed…” Hughes places a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I think I need to stay dead.”_ _

__Ed tilts his head in confusion. “What?”_ _

__“They know my family, and If they find out I’m alive, they’ll kill my family in order for me to keep quiet. Please Ed, I can’t let that happen. They’ll know my body’s not at the phone booth, you have to let me go back.”_ _

__“What no! I can’t let you be killed this time!”_ _

__“Ed! I have to! Look, I appreciate what you’ve done, but I have to do this for my family!”_ _

__“Then let me help you! I’ll help you stay dead! I’ll help you-” He trails off, and suddenly smirks. “That’s it, I’ll help you stay dead.”_ _

__“What do you mean?”_ _

__“If you want your family to be safe, then you have to be dead. Or, you’ll pretend to be.”_ _

__“Okay, but how? They’ll know I’m not when they arrive at the scene of the crime.”_ _

__“Exactly, that’s why-” He points to himself. “I’m going to make a corpse.”_ _

__Hughes blinks. “You can really do that?”_ _

__“I might have to steal a few things from the grocery store, but I think I can do it. With the right techniques and alchemy knowledge, I think I can.”_ _

__He scratches his chin once again, going back into his thinking habits. “Actually, That could work.”_ _

__“It _will_ work.” Ed cuts in confidently. “Besides, you need to stay alive with me so when can figure out this whole worldwide transmutation thing together. Are you in?”_ _

__Hughes set his jaw and back straight, nodding. “As long as my family is safe, then I’m in. It’s about time we tried to figure what’s really going on in the military.”_ _

__“Great, I’ll get started.”_ _

__“Well, hang on for a second, Ed. Envy turned into my wife and Lieutenant Ross, so he’s going to pick one of those to pin my murder on. What are we going to do about that?”_ _

__“Hmm… well, I don’t think it’ll be Gracia.”_ _

__“Why not?”_ _

__“Because for starters, even if they do pin her for it, nobody’s going to want to believe a grieving widow; in a matter of fact, there will be a lot of backlash from the public if this would get out, and that’s the last thing that the Military needs; Civilians bashing on them. It’ll make more sense if they allowed one of their own to take the fall.”_ _

__“And they could keep that secret if they wanted to.” Hughes scowls. “Sneaky bastards.”_ _

__“No shit.” Ed said, his usual self coming through._ _

__“Okay, so we know it’ll be Ross. What are we going to do about that?”_ _

__“Leave that to me. If you weren’t pretending to be dead, you’re in no shape to be going anywhere.” Ed suddenly sheds off his bloody clothes, and changes into something else before marching over to the door. “Mark my words, Hughes. By the end of this week they’ll be two ‘dead’ soldiers.”_ _

__And the boy grinned with mischievous intent._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! See you soon!


	4. One Lie, One Broken Woman, One Vengeful Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed tries to figure out a way to make Hughes 'dead', and Gracia gets a visit from a family friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angst in this chapter. Maybe grab some tissues?
> 
> **(Update: 1/8/21- Artwork later in chapter)**

Ed couldn’t believe the night wasn’t over yet. The clock hasn't even struck twelve for midnight. He still couldn’t believe the day he had, with reviving a friend and now having to pretend he was dead; And on top of all that, the homunculus have mastermind some kind of plan that involves the military.

He knew the military has, and always will have, a dark side; But he honestly didn’t expect something like _this_. A worldwide transmutation circle, one that looked like it was going to be used to make a philosopher’s stone. Why though? He wasn’t sure. But that is something him and Hughes (and possibly Ross) will have to deal with later.

He rounded around a corner and out of the alleyway, crossing the street that took him to the park. He wanted to double check that no was there yet, which…

There was.

Ed stopped in his tracks, eyes going wide. “Shit.” He muttered, before dunking behind a shrub. He peeked out slightly, mentally cursing again.

MPs lined up around the booth, and there was even a higher rank there that looked like he was heading home by the bag strapped over his shoulder.

“God damn it…” The teen looked away, gripping his hair. He immediately felt his fingers all sticky and warm, and pulled away to take a look. Blood. Of course, how could have he forgotten? “God, I fucked up.” He sighed, quietly. “I’ve got to get out of here.”

He crawled a few feet, glancing back to make sure no soldiers were looking at him, before bolting into the city. He ran as fast as he could, making sure he was a few blocks away before slowing down. His lungs started to burn again, he started to taste the metallic taste of blood again when he panted. He was starting to feel like crap again. His mind wasn’t fuzzy like it was an hour ago, but it hurt like hell. His head was pounding broodily behind his eyelids, making him feel weaker and weaker as he silently wished for it to stop.

He closed his hazy eyes, and rested his forehead against the cool brick wall to think. _“What the hell am I supposed to do now? They’re detectives, they’ll know that Hughes was practically dragged away from the scene by someone. So what do I do? Hughes has to stay dead in order to keep his family safe, so how am I going to make that happen?”_

He racked his hurting head for some answers, trying to put his prodigy mind to the test, but nothing was coming through. He started getting more frustrated with himself, and the whole entire situation. It just wasn’t fair, Hughes was a normal guy, he did his work with no complaints, and at the end of the day he’ll return to his wife and daughter safe and sound. _That’s It_. He didn’t deserve to be dragged into the pits of hell by the homunculus and the military, just because he flew too close to the sun with his wax wings.

_“Damn homunculus, damn military, damn everything!!! This isn’t fair, he should be home now with his family, not bleeding to death on a hotel couch. Damn it!!”_

He punched the wall with his automail, opening his pounding eyes slowly, a scowl on his face. “ _This isn’t right….”_ He sighed again, but it sounded almost like a growl belonging to a wild animal. _“Think Edward, Think. What can I do? There had to be something.”_

Ed suddenly perked up when he heard a voice, and judging by the volume of it, it was coming from around the corner. Curiosity overtook him, as he walked out of the alleyway, coming face-to-face with a small hospital building. It’s brightly lit sign shone on the employees' cars and ambulances lined up in the front, showing the city that they were fully prepared to take on any patient in need. He saw two people near the doorway, one a nurse and a well dressed man.

“See you next week, Dr. Knox.” The nurse said, giving him a small wave.

“You too, Leslie.” He said, fishing his car keys out of his pocket, just as the nurse headed back inside.

Ed took a moment to think back on why that name sounded so familiar. It took him a second to realize that Mustang had mentioned him once before, saying that he was a comrade of his back in the war. He honestly doesn’t know much about him, but if the Colonel knows him and talks about him with great respect, he must be trustworthy.

It was a stupid idea, and he wasn’t 100 percent sure that he’ll be able to do what he was about to ask, but Ed was officially running out of ideas. This was literally his last shot to make sure Hughes stays ‘dead’. He took a deep breath, and bolted across the empty road towards the man.

“Hey! Dr. Knox! Dr. Knox!” He shouted, catching his attention.

The man stiffened up at his name being called, and watched Ed stroll up to him. “Yes, that’s me.”

“Great! I need a favor then.”

Knox looked over the panting boy and quickly noticed his hair and the dry red patches around his mouth. “Dear god, did you crack open your head?! What’s with all the blood in your hair?”

Ed waved him off. “Nevermind that for now, I need to ask you something. Do you know a guy by the name, ‘Roy Mustang’?”

Knox’s worried and stoic face didn’t vanish, but his stiff shoulder did. “Yes, I know Mustang. What about him?”

“Great, I know you can be trusted.” Ed replies, ignoring his question. He takes a deep breath, his expression becoming serious. “Listen… I’ll pay you shit load of money if you help me declare someone dead.”

Knox blinked a few times, tilting his head in confusion. “Hold on…”

His face suddenly held rage.

“WHAT?!?!”

***Break***

Gracia tread across the floor as quickly and as quietly as she could, hoping that the repeating knocks from the front door won’t wake up her daughter. She muttered, ‘Coming, coming’, and rushed over to open the door, surprised by who it was, and it was the last person she thought it would be. It was not her husband (like he said he promised he would be home early, but didn’t), it was not a neighbour who wanted to borrow some sugar, no, it was,

Her husband’s closest friend.

“Oh, Roy. I wasn’t expecting you this late.” She replies, kindly. Her eyes took in his form. “Are you alright?”

He looked like the life force had been sucked out of him. His pale skin stuck out like a sore thumb, his hair seemed ratty and unkempt, and his eyes held something she’s never seen before…

Guilt.

He didn’t speak at first, or at least he didn’t look like he wanted to, so the housewife got worried.

“Roy?” She said, concerned.

“Can I come in?” He asked, ignoring her first question. “Please…”

He whispered the last part so quietly that she almost didn’t hear it. She smiled reassuringly, stepping aside to give him some room to enter. “You don’t have to ask, you’re always welcome.”

“Thanks…” Another whisper, but he enters. His dark eyes glued to anywhere and anything but Gracia, not turning around even after he heard her close the door shut.

“I honestly wasn’t expecting you so late. I didn’t think you were here in Central.” Gracia said, hugging herself when she felt a small chill.

“I was… I had some work to do here.” A lie. He was never in Central, he was back East when he got the dreadful call about his friend. He just didn’t have the heart to tell her that he got in his car and speeded the whole way here in the matter of only a few hours.

“Always working, I see. Well, Maes isn’t here yet if that’s who you’re looking for.” She replies, and gestures to the couch. “You can wait for him if you’d like, or if you’re tired, there’s always the guest bedroom-”

“Actually, I came here… to see you.” Roy finally faced the woman, trying to hold himself together. He had already cried and balled on the way here, his time was over, and he knows it’s Gracia’s turn next. “It’s about Maes.”

Yes.

Maes. Not Hughes.

It’s time to forget using last names right now. It was the least he can do, especially after-

“What about him?” She looked surprised once more, but kept her smile.

He bit the inside of his cheek, and stepped forward to place two comforting hands on her shoulders. “I don’t know how to tell you this… but I thought it would be better hearing it from me, then a….” He almost shuttered at the thought. “A phone call.”

Her face fell silently, concern in her words next, “Roy, what’s going on? Is Maes okay?”

“Gracia-”

“Roy. Is Maes okay, or not?”

Her eyes bored into his, and Roy couldn’t almost feel the dam breaking as he could see the fear in her green orbs. He swallowed, and shook his head. “No.” He started, trying to find a way to put this. “No, he’s not.”

Gracia looked almost as pale as he was, as she tried to make sense to what he was saying. “Roy, what happened to my husband? Is he hurt? Is he-”

“Gracia…” He gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze, there was no point in sugar coating this for her, it’ll only make things worse if he drags it out longer (Maybe he wanted to drag it out longer for himself). He swallowed and said, “He’s dead.” He immediately hated the way her pupils shrank, and the shaking of her own head.

“No… no.. no. Roy… please tell me you’re joking.”

“I’m not. I swear.”

“No. Y-you’re lying… no please, Roy. Please tell me you’re joking!” She shook her head more, and the alchemist became even more worried.

“Gracia, Gracia. Look at me. Look at me.” He cupped her face, and begged her to look at him. “Why would I lie to you about something like this?”

She froze.

And finally…

The dam broke inside.

“No…” Gracia started. “No, no no…”

Roy let her fall into him as she began to cry, sobbing loudly as she clenched his shirt.

“No!!!” She cried, as he wrapped his arms around her tightly.

They soon found themself on their knees, Roy holding most of the weight as she balled for the loss of her husband. He just held her close, and occasionally would rubbed soothing circles on her back, but stopped when they seemed to not help. All she wanted, and _needed_ , was to be held; Held tightly as she breaks down. Roy was silently grateful that Elicia hasn’t been woken up yet, because he honestly thinks he couldn’t tell her about her dad with a straight face.

Selfish. But he knew Gracia was definitely not in the best state to tell her own daughter either.

Roy just held his best friend’s wife, who was now considered to be a widow, in his arms, cradling her like she was a child who just experienced a night terror. He had his chin on top of her head, as she gripped at his uniform that looked like it had been put through the wringer. His eyes started to swell up with tears as well, and he promised himself he wasn’t going to cry again, but it was becoming so hard not to with all these family photos looking back at him.

Why?

Just why?

He had a family, he was a good guy who just wanted to get home safely and soundly. He didn’t deserve to be shot, and die on an operating table. Hughes was never known to be going out on a line of fire, so why? Just why did he have to be the one to die? Why was it Hughes and not him? Why was it the man who played it safe, and not himself where he always put himself into danger? Just why?

Why did the universe do this to Maes Hughes?

As his charcoal eyes blinked away the tears as he stared at a photo on the wall, he felt something inside him he'd never felt before. It was fire, but it was a different type, and suddenly he was feeling like burning the bastard who tore the Hughes family apart. It felt….

It felt like the right thing to do all of a sudden.

He tightened his grip on her, but gently, not painfully as he sent mental death threats to the murderer that was still out there. _“Don’t you worry Gracia, I’m going to find the bastard who did this. I’m going to find him… and I’m going to **kill** him.”_

And from there…

Roy silently wishes that the universe would transfer him to Central soon.

And wishes the killer a slow and painful death by his own hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And.... scene. Sorry this was a short one, but I felt like this was the right place to stop it. Thanks for reading!


	5. Planning An Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed comes home to a distressed Maes Hughes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! And with a new chapter.
> 
> Sorry if Hughes or Ed are a little OOC, but I kind of have to stray a bit away from their personality. In the show (or manga), we never got to see Hughes crying or anything like that so I had to be creative in that sense.
> 
> Enjoy! 
> 
> No warnings, just some hurt/comfort/fluff.

The sun beamed through the drapes brightly, hitting the sleepy man’s eyes, making them flutter awake. He squinted slightly, feeling the cool metal of his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose. He felt awful, almost like he’s been hit by a train, maybe even several. He groaned and rolled from his side to his back, pushing the palm of his hand onto his sweaty forehead. He shut his eyes again when a sharp pain was felt in his chest, the pain just swimming in the horrible wound.

It hurts. It hurts so much that he couldn’t even begin to cry out. His throat was sore and his insides felt like they were on fire. God it hurts. And there was nothing he could do with a body that felt like lead.

 _“It hurts…. It hurts so bad…”_ Hughes cried deep inside his mind.

He laid still for a while, only taking in shaky breathes through his mouth and nose. It hurts. He felt his eyes well up with tears, but nothing leaked out beneath his eyelids like he wanted them to. It was hurting him almost more than the pain itself.

He soon heard the door click open, and someone entered quietly, and he could only guess who it was. He did his best to open his groggy eyes, craning his neck up to get a look.

“Ed?”

“Yeah, it’s me.” The blonde replies, shuffling over with a grocery bag in his hand.

Hughes decided he wanted to sit up, which resulted in the teenager helping him carefully. “Thanks.”

“No problem. I got something to eat, and to drink. Here,” Ed holds out a water bottle. “It’s not coffee unfortunately, but you drink more water.”

“Thanks.” He says again, taking the bottle. He opens it and takes a long (and well needed) sip. The cool water soothed his throat, making him feel a little bit better.

“I got pastries, if you want.” Ed replies, showing it off.

“Just leave it on the table, I’ll get to it later.”

Ed nods and complies, before sitting on top of the side table after refusing Hughes’ offer to make some on the couch. “Hughes-”

“Is that a different shirt?”

Ed glanced down at himself, forgetting that he changed his navy blue shirt from last night into a white button up one. “Uh… yeah, I did.”

Hughes tilted his head slightly, confused. “Why? That was a clean shirt you put on last night.”

He somehow kept a straight face. “It got dirty, plus I changed so I wouldn't be recognized.”

The older man raised an eyebrow. “Recognized? What do you mean? Where’d you go last night?”

“I went back to the phonebooth to uh… you know, make a fake corpse, but it didn't go like I’d plan because the police were already there.” He could see Hughes pale with fear, and held up his hands with reassurance. “Don’t worry, I took care of it, trust me.”

“How though?” Hughes asked, his voice becoming hoarse again, which made him take another long sip of water.

Ed waited until he was done before continuing, “I managed to get some help from a man called Dr. Knox from a small medical clinic I ran into.”

Hughes perked up at the name. “Dr. Knox? He used to work with the military for a long time before going off the radar.”

“You know him too?”

“Yeah, Of course. He was an old war buddy I ran into a few times at our camp. How’d you know about him?”

“The Colonel. I remember him mentioning him once, and the name stuck with me. I don’t know why, but my gut told me it was okay to trust him.”

“So… what did you do?”

“I managed to convince him to help declare you ‘dead’, we even made up a story to go with it.” Ed shifted a bit in his seat, almost talking with his hands afterwards. “Basically, Knox was driving by and found you bleeding to death, he then took you back to the clinic, only to end up losing you. When I left, he was going to make a call to Central, telling him of your passing. I even made a corpse just in case, hence why I changed my shirt, the alchemy process is pretty messy.”

It wasn’t a total lie, all of it was true except for the shirt part. While transmuting the corpse he ended up vomiting blood all over his shirt, staining it completely. Knox had then lended him a spare he had, and sent him off. Ed still feels like shit and he feels like he might faint with how much blood he’s losing, but what he still can’t figure out is why though?

“Did Knox ask for an explanation?” Hughes asked, recalling the doctor’s grouchy personality from his old memories.

Ed shook his head. “I started out by saying it was because of the military, and immediately cut me off, not wanting to know any of it.” He replies, scratching the back of his neck. “He didn’t even take the money I was going to give him for going through such lengths.”

Hughes smiled a bit. “That’s Knox for you. He may have an angry looking exterior, but the man can be a softy every once and awhile.” His expression faded when a thought came across. “So I’m officially dead?”

Ed frowns as well, nodding again, only at a slow pace. “Yeah. From now on, Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes is dead.” The man’s eyes flashed hurt as he sunk his head low, looking away. “Hughes?” He asked, worriedly.

“Forget about me for a second. What about Lieutenant Ross?”

“That’s tricky. She’s probably either walking around Central doing her job, or she’s already been arrested. Either way, it’s going to be tricky getting her out of there, not to mention finding a way to hide her like you.”

“Okay, so what if we do get her out, where do we go?” He looks back at the prodigy boy with eyes of many emotions. “I mean you still have a job, a life. What are _you_ going to do?”

“I’m going to keep helping you obviously.” Ed replies, sitting up straighter.

“How? You still have to get back to Roy for work, you still have to reunite with your brother, so what are you going to do?”

“The Colonel won’t expect me for a while, and I can always tell Al I’ve been assigned a mission, it’ll all work out, I promi-”

“But how?!” Ed flinched at his loud tone, as he continued to yell, “I can’t just expect you to make this all work, to help me and Ross disappear. I mean for god sakes, Ed! The whole military’s involved in something that might lead to mass genocide! And you expect this to all work?!”

Ed’s shoulders slumped, his pupils shrinking. “Hughes-”

“How are you so confident? We’re both in the fucking ground right now, and you’re so confident….” Hughes finally let the damn break, letting his tears break through his mask. “I’m d-dead… I was al-alive yesterday, and n-now I’m _**dead**_. I’m supposed to be dead because I found _something_ I w-wasn’t supposed to, and now… I’ve wrapped y-you into th-this?”

His voice starts to break to fragile as he covers his face with his hands, hanging his head low again. “H-how am I supposed to live with myself when I put you in danger? And Ross too? What am I supposed to feel like? God, Ed…. I just want to be home with my f-family like I pro-promise them. I failed that…. I failed that miserably.”

His hands started to shake along with his body, and for once, Ed felt useless. He wasn’t exactly the type of person to comfort someone in need, in a matter of fact, he sucked at it. But now wasn’t the time for that, now was the time for him to step out of that zone, and help his friend out. Ed settled for placing a hand on Hughes’ shoulder, patting him gently, letting him know he was there.

“Look, I know you feel guilty for getting me - _indirectly_ \- involved with this, but you can’t put yourself down like that, what’s done is done.” He replies, face turning serious for a moment. “However, we have to do _something_ , we have to get you, and potentially, Ross somewhere safe and out of Central so we can start by figuring out what’s truly going on in our military.”

“But where?” Hughes croaked, sliding his hands away, showing off his puffy green eyes. “Where would we go? What would be safe for us?”

Ed paused to think, where was safe? Was there even a place for them to go? He pursed his lips when a place crossed his mind. “Actually, there might be. The Rockbell residence.” He felt Hughes go rigid under his palm.

“The Rockbells? You can’t be serious, Ed.”

“I know that it sounds risky, but let me tell you that Granny was a bit of a wild card when she was younger, if you know what I mean. If anybody knows how to get out of trouble from the law, it’s her. Plus, Winry took an internship in Rush Valley, so she won’t be returning home anytime soon, we’ll be pretty much in the clear.”

Hughes stared with uncertainty for a moment, before sighing. “If you think so, I guess that might be our only choice. I honestly can’t think of anything else other than safe houses, but that’s all run by the military and we know that’s out of the question.”

“So It’s settled then.” Ed says, standing up. “We should start by-”

Hughes suddenly coughed violently, the reaction hurting his chest. “Gah… fuck…”

The boy became alerted, and panicky. “Shit, is it the wound?! Is it infected?!”

“I… I don’t know. I feel awful though… and hot, but cold too…”

“Yeah, that’s infection. Shit.” He starts rummaging through the grocery bag, pulling out things he needed. “I managed to buy some proper medical supplies, I’ll be able to clean up your wound. We’ll do it in the bathroom so we’re closer to water.”

“Th-that’s great.” Hughes slurred, starting to feel dizzy.

Ed casted a quick and worried glance before pulling out a few more things. “While we’re at it, we should start by changing your appearance too.” He shows off a box of hair dye to him, giving off a goofy grin. “I hope you like being a blonde.”

***Break***

Hughes winced as the freshly boiled/sterile needle pierced his skin. Ed muttered a small apology before continuing to close up the wound. Luckily there was no bullet still lodged in there, only just an infection that was starting to get out of control. After cleaning the wound a few times, the alchemist decided to close the wound close, making sure it was done tight enough so Hughes wouldn't have any problems in the future (minus the nasty scar he was going to have left behind).

The now ex-Lieu. Colonel pressed the damped towel against his forehead some more, relaxing into the cool water that felt amazing against his clammy skin. He lets out a sigh of relief.

“Do you need me to make it wet again?” Ed asked, his eyes still glued on the task at hand, but he could spare a second to damp a towel.

“No. It’s fine.” Hughes replies, truthfully. His eyes landed on the box of hair dye that was just laying on the bathroom counter. “Why did you pick blonde?” He was curious, but also wanted to try to lighten the gloomy mood that surrounded them.

The corner of Ed’s lips turning into a smile. “Cause why not? Blonde’s a badass color.”

“I can only guess why…” He copied the child’s expression.

“Well you can join me as a blonde. Although, since your hair’s naturally dark, the dye might turn out as a dirty blonde, or maybe even a sandy brown color. Is that okay?”

“If you think that’ll make me look different, then okay. I wouldn’t even care if you’d dyed my hair pink at this point.”

Ed raised an eyebrow. “You would actually let me dye your hair pink?”

Hughes shrugged with one shoulder, smiling. “Why not? I can guarantee that’ll look different.”

He chuckled quietly. “We’ve got to make yourself blend in, not stand out. You’ll be seen from a mile away.”

“Says the boy with the brightly colored coat.”

“Hey! The coat is fashionable! _And_ it has a purpose!”

“Which is?”

“It’s to keep my automail cooler from the heat.”

Hughes hummed, realizing that made sense. “Interesting, but uh… how come you don’t wear brightly colored pants as well? You wear black leather pants to work and that’s way worse than wearing a black coat, so why does your automail leg get a different treatment?”

Ed’s cheeks felt flushed, making Hughes hold back a bubbly laugh. “I-It… w-well…” He sighs. “Okay, maybe it’s just for fashion…”

The older man grinned just as the boy finished the last of his stitches on both sides. Ed then wrapped cleaned bandages from the store, binding it tightly to complete his amateur medical skills. He takes a step back to admire his work, double checking it was secure enough for Hughes to roam around freely.

“Does it look okay?” Hughes asked, curiously.

“Yeah, it does.” Ed replies, giving him a thumbs up.

“That’s good.” His eyes trailed down to his chest, bringing his hand up to point at the rune. “What exactly am I supposed to do about this? Do I have to leave it on like Alphonse? Or can I rub it off because I’m in my original body?”

He cocks his head to the side, thinking hard. “To be honest, I’m not sure. I almost want to say that you can rub it off, but I need to do some more research first. Do you mind not taking a shower for a few days until I can get my hands on some alchemy books?”

Hughes chuckled at another old memory. “I think I can handle that. I went months without one when I was in the Ishvalan war, what could a few days do?”

Ed made a disgusted face. “ _Months?_ That’s gross.”

“It was, but… between you and me, Roy was the worst.” He whispered the last part, almost like two siblings whispering behind their mother’s back, and that made Ed laugh quite a bit.

“Oh man, when this is all over, I’m going to rub that in that bastard’s face.” He chuckled, and faced the counter with a grin on his lips. “Alright, let’s do your hair, and then I’ll give you a change of clothes.”

Ed got to work, applying the unpleasant smelling chemicals that was hair dye into Hughes’ midnight locks. While working, Ed took note that his hair wasn’t as dark as the Colonel’s or even teacher’s, it had small yet noticeable streaks of dark brown in it (and some streaks of gray). He thought it was interesting how different it was from his own, which was only just straight up blonde and nothing else.

Hughes peeked opened his closed eyes, taking a quick glance before closing them again when Ed moved towards his hairline. “Something caught your eye, kiddo?” He asked, calmingly.

“Huh?” Ed said, getting knocked out of his trance.

“I know that face you’re making, you’re in deep thought. What’s got you thinking?”

He shrugs a bit. “Genetics, it’s fascinating. I just noticed that your hair’s different from the Colonel’s, you do have some brown I’ve never noticed before.”

Hughes hums in agreement. “I guess I got a mixture of both of my parents. My mom had black hair and my dad was this brown color I rarely see. My sister ended up just getting my dad’s hair though, while I ended up with both, which I always thought I was odd.”

Ed paused, curiosity striking him. “You have a sister?”

“Yeah. Younger one.”

“Huh. I never knew.”

“Not something I talk about all the time, We’ve been estranged for a while. What about you? Does Alphonse look like you?”

“Pretty much, just his hair’s a bit darker than mine, still golden blonde in a way though.”

“Interesting. I guess genetics are fascinating.”

“They sure are.”

They soon fell back into silence, and Ed rinsed all the existing dye out of Hughes’ hair into the sink, while being cautious of the blood seal. The hair was patted nearly dry, as Hughes combs his new colored hair with his fingers. He tilted his head to the side, looking at it the mirror.

“Huh, sandy brown. How does it look?” Hughes asked, wanting an honest opinion.

“It suits you. Although, your beard makes it look a little strange.” Ed replies, honest.

“I’ll shave it, it’s not a big deal.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Cause you’re right, I want to blend in, not stand out.”

He shrugs. “Suit yourself then. I think I have a razor in my luggage.”

Hughes blinks. “You have a razor?” He suddenly gasps with joy. “Ed, don’t tell me, are you shaving already?!”

Ed’s cheeks flush red. “No! Not yet! I just noticed I was getting some facial hair one day, and decided to have one just in case… I don’t know, it was dumb.”

He shakes his head, holding a smile. “It’s not dumb, it means you’re growing up, becoming a man.”

“Yeah… I guess…”

“I’ll tell you what,” He places a hand on top of the boy’s head. “If you happen to start growing a beard during our little hideout from the military, then I’ll teach you. You obviously have never done it before, right?”

Ed shakes his head. “No, no one has ever teached me before. You will?”

“Of course! You and Al are like a son to me, and I’ll help you in any way I can.”

He smiles, feeling the warmth radiate off the man. “Thanks, Hughes.”

“Anytime, Kiddo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! The great escape is coming up!


	6. Operation: Get Out Of Central

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed and Hughes move in to get Ross from Central. And although everything seems to be going smoothly, bad things happen to our two boys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warnings, and no regrets about this chapter (I know the readers are probably going to kill me for the angst in this chapter).  
> Enjoy!

“Have a nice day at work, Dear.”

“I’ll see you later. Love you.”

The door to the house shuts behind, and the man picks up his briefcase and strolls down the lawn’s cobblestone path to his car. A lovely hum was playing off his lips as he twirls the set of keys on his finger, with a joyful aura radiating off of him that could be seen for miles. Yes siree, his morning has been a good one so far. He hums some more, unlocking his vehicles door, opening it up with ease-

“Excuse me, sir.”

The man perked up, turning around to spot two men dressed in the infamous blue military uniforms. He looked with surprise and slight unease. “Um, yes? Is there something I could help you with, gentlemen?” He asked, politely.

The two glance at each other, before a tall blonde man with green eyes flashed a silver pocket watch in his face. “Actually, yes. I’m a state alchemist, sir. You see, we were on a pursuit to take down a group of bank robbers not too far from here.”

“Oh my, that’s awful.”

“It is. Unfortunately the men stole our car, and is inpursuit to get outside the city. With no way to get back to our base, we can’t inform the military.”

“Okay. Why are you telling me this?”

They glanced at each other again, and only this time the other soldier spoke. He was a bit shorter than the blonde, and his hair was jet black instead. “Because, we need your car.” He replies, bluntly.

The man was now even more confused than before. “What?”

“Your car. We need it.” The blonde replies, just as bluntly as the other. “We’ll return to you after we get back to our base.”

“No.” He shakes his head. “No, no, no. You can’t just take my car.”

“Sir, we need it now. This is a matter of life or death, those bank robbers were using deadly weapons, including homemade bombs.” The black haired says, sternly. “We need to tell our comrades before something bad happens.”

“Please cooperate, sir. We promise we’ll bring it back.” The blonde chimes in again.

The man sighs heavily, his forehead resting against the door. After a few long moments of sighing, he finally gave in. “Fine, fine! Take it! As long as you bring it back.”

“We will, sir. Thank you for your cooperation.” The blonde soldier takes the keys and hops into the driver seat, as the other soldier throws the backpack he had on, before sitting in the passenger seat.

“Wait! What are your names! Should I at least know that, in case you break your promise!”

Green eyes trailed back, giving him a stern look. “You don’t need to know that.” He shuts the door, leaving the true owner of the car on the curb, before driving off. He drove a bit fast to give the owner the illusion that they were in a hurry, only slowing down when they were officially out of sight.

They both let out a breath of relief.

“I can’t believe he fell for that.” Ed finally said, his heart rate starting to drop back to normal.

“Well, usually when you’re a soldier, you can pretty much ask for what you want, and most of the time the civilians will listen.” Hughes replies, fixing his newly dyed hair. He was trying to get it to slick back so that his original haircut wouldn’t be _too_ noticeable.

“That’s kind of sleazy, don’t you think?” Just like Hughes, he too had dyed his hair a different color. Since his golden hair stuck out like a sore thumb, he needed to blend in more. He then decided dying it black was the best idea, along with styling in a bun (something he’s never really done before with his long hair). Besides that, he was wearing glasses that he borrowed from Hughes.

“It is. That’s why I was a bit hesitant to do something like that. I don’t want to be seen as the ‘corrupted’ soldier, you know?”

“I get it.” He fixed the glasses, and glanced over at the adult who was squinting slightly as he drove. “How’s those contacts doing for you?”

Hughes shrugs. “Eh, they’re fine. I mean, they’re glass, they're not the most comfortable thing in the world.” He gives the kid a bittersweet smile. “Maybe we should have gotten colored contacts while we were at it.”

Ed hums in agreement, crossing his arms and leaning back. “Yeah, we should have. We can look around when we get to Resembool.”

“Sounds good. But-” He looks at him. “Maybe we should get you some too. I mean, no offense, but nobody has gold eyes like you do. They’re not common at all.”

“Yeah… my eyes are not common at all, that’s for sure.”

“Glad you agree, Kiddo.” He then chuckles.

Ed raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“I can't get used to seeing you in that uniform.”

Ed scowled, a great sound of detest in his next few words. “Tell me about it.” He frowns and glares down at himself. “I _**hate**_ it.”

Hughes chuckles again. “Why though? You’ve never really explained yourself when people asked you.” He was being bitten by the curiosity bug again (maybe this kid was starting to rub off on him?).

Edward stayed silent, his eyes glancing out into the world through the passenger seat window. “No reason, really.” He mutters, not wanting to give the man anymore information on his real reason. “I just hope that tailor we went to keeps his mouth shut. I paid him 2 millions dollars.”

They both had stopped by a tailor who specializes in custom fittings before coming to ‘borrow’ a car. Hughes needed a bloodless uniform, and Ed (much to his demise) needed one to pull their plan off. What was their plan you ask? It was called, ‘Operation: Get Out Of Central’.  
Their plan was to disguise themselves well enough to swoop in, grab Maria Ross before she could get arrested, and then get the hell out of the city. Sounds easy, right? Knowing themselves very well, they can’t stay relaxed while doing this. Anything could go wrong at any moment, so they have to stay on their toes.

“A kid with money.” Hughes said, thinking about it. “The military really wasn’t stingy on your research grants.”

Ed laughs, smirking. “If you think that was a lot, you should have seen the check I gave Sheska when I first met her. Both her and Lieutenant Ross’ eyeball were about to pop out!”

“Awe… if only I had my camera.”

“You and your camera.”

He shrugs nonchalantly. “Hey, I like to take pictures. Sue me.”

“Pfft…. I’ll get right on that.”

They went back into silence, and Ed let his eyes trail forward to look at Central HQ from afar. His golden orbs glared a bit, frowning some more as he thought of how many lies that place made up.

 _“What more could they be hiding?”_ Ed wondered, opening the backpack he set down on the floor. He exchanged his travel luggage for this, trading it in so he could blend in as the child he was when he gets on the train.

Hughes spared him a glance, getting ready to park the car. “Are you ready?” He asked, a little bit worried.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” He replies, stuffing a few things in his pockets.

“Now remember, Central is way bigger than Eastern command, so be careful not to get lost.”

Ed raises an eyebrow again, seeing that they weren’t parked where he thought they would be. “This isn’t the entrance to Central.”

“This is one of the smaller entrances to the base, not a lot of soldiers in and out. Trust me, this will be easier to sneak Lieutenant Ross out.”

He nods. “Got it.” He opens the door, only for the man to latch his hand around his arm.

“Wait, Ed. If you do get lost, just tell her that we're parked at the South Entrance B; She’ll know where this is.”

“Got it. South Entrance B.”

“Careful, Edward.” Hughes replies, waiting for him to get out.

“I will. And try not to make contact with anyone either, but also try not to look suspicious while doing so. Okay?” Ed says, flashing his signature grin before shutting the car door. Once on the sidewalk, he let out a sigh. “Alright, You can do this.”

He starts walking inside, saluting to the soldiers guarding the door, before going up a long flight of stairs. He mentally cursed when he twisted his flesh ankle a bit. The custom boots he got himself had a little extra height then his normal red and black elevator boots. He thought it would be a good idea to look slightly taller to give the illusion that he was an adult (so far, he was regretting it).

 _“Great. I’m finally fucking taller and I’m basically going to kill myself on these stairs.”_ He scowls quietly. _“Great, Just great, Elric.”_

He pushes open the door to the base, immediately feeling a sense of unease by it. But why though? It wasn’t his first time here. He did his state alchemist exam here, and he was also here when Mustang took the Isaac McDougal case, so why did it feel different? Was it because he was officially going to become a fugitive/AWOL after today? Or was it his nerves eating at him because he was about to bust a ‘criminal’ soldier out of central?

Or….

Was it because he knew that the military was not what they seemed? A wolf in sheep's clothing you might say. Yeah, he was leaning towards that, but honestly wouldn’t be surprised if it was all three.

Ed kept his chin and back straight, walking in a way Hughes taught him to do, stepping aside to salute to higher ranks, as his eyes trailed around behind the black frames for any signs of Lieutenant Ross. To his surprise, it didn’t take long for him to spot the short haired woman from behind. She was walking in the opposite direction down the same hall in front of him, wearing a pair of white gloves and a black sash, which confused him slightly.

_“That’s new.”_

He shakes his head, his curiosity once again was a blessing and a curse, and pushed it on the back burner to focus on the task at hand. He picked his speed up, not too fast to make him stand out, but just enough to get him closer and closer to the female soldier ahead. He frowned, noticing a few other people in the hallway gawking at her oddly, and he knew it wasn’t because of her gender or tomboyish look.

 _“Not good, they must be in on the framing.”_ He thought, coming to a conclusion. _“Damn it. The military really is corrupted. I got to move fast.”_

He pushed himself a bit more, and when he was close enough he slung his arm around her back, startling her greatly.

“Wha-” Ross begins, only for him to shush her quietly.

“Stay quiet, and don't make eye contact with anyone. Just follow me.” He whispers, taking a glance. He saw her lips purse and shut close, doing what she was told when he saw the rank on his uniform.

Ed guided them around the base, looping around hallways as he scanned around for any unwanted followers. Once he knew they were in the clear, he pushed her into the nearby mens bathroom. He shuts the door, feeling a nervous sweat run down his brow, feeling a sense of relief that he’s made it this far. He lets out a sigh, spinning on his heels to get a look at their surroundings.

“Hey, what is-” Ross begins, but is cut off when he makes a shushing gesture.

Ed bends down, checking the stalls for any occupants. None. They were officially alone. “Good. We’re alone.” He said, outloud.

“Alone?” Ross said, confused. “Forgive my next words, sir, but who the hell are you and what do you want from me?”

“Well for starters it’s _me_ ,” He pulls his glasses down his nose, revealing his eyes a bit more. “Edward.”

Her eyes widened. “Major Elric? But… Why are you dressed like that? And what happened to your hair?”

“Long story, and I’ll explain more later, but we need to get out of here now.”

“What? I don’t understand.”

“Look, Ross…” He pauses for a moment, making sure that nobody was standing or passing by the bathroom door. He then decides to lower his voice some more, leaning in closer. “Listen, I’m going to give it to you straight. You’re going to be framed for murder.”

She pales and stiffens. “What? What do you mean I’m going to be framed?”

“I found out that _someone_ , I don’t know who though, is going to pin Hughes’ murder on you.”

“What? Why me!?” Ross yells, only to lower her voice when Ed shushed her again. “B-but… Lieutenant Colonel Hughes was one of my bosses, why would I kill him? I mean.. I’m going to his funeral…”

Ed let a silent gasp fall pass his lips. _“The sash, the gloves. Now it all makes sense. But…”_ He frowns. _“Why a funeral now? Are they trying to get rid of his ‘body’ now so that nobody could question why a beloved officer was gun down in the middle of the night? Unless….”_

“You’re going to funeral now, right?” He asked, quickly.

“Huh? Oh yes, I’m supposed to meet some people at the veterans memorial sight.” Ross replies, still looking unease.

“And you’re supposed to go back to work afterwards, right?”

She nods slowly. “Yes.”

He rubs his chin in thought. _“So I was right, they’re going to have her attend the funeral and make her go back to work like she’s done nothing wrong. It’s the perfect cover story for a murderer. Damn it. Whoever is pulling the strings is a genesis.”_

“Um, Major?” Ross said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“You’re in more danger than I thought. We have to leave now.” He says, ready to go out the door.

“But I still don’t understand why it’s me though. Why pin it on me?”

“Because, you’re one of the last people who had contact with Hughes, you’re the perfect candidate. Now, hold still.” He fishes out the items he stuffed in his pockets earlier, revealing a military cap. He then places it on top of her head.

She blinks in confusion. “Major?”

“Hang on a second, we got to make you blend in more.” He starts carefully ripping off the stars and stripes on her shoulder, ripping it bare. “There. You’re officially an MP. Get rid of the gloves and sash too.” She does what she’s told, throwing the items in the trashcan nearby, as Ed rips open a bandage to place under her left eye.

Ross stops to touch it, coming to a realization. “You’re covering my mole.”

“I am.”

“Because it’s a unique feature?”

“Exactly. People who know you well enough will pick that up, even Hughes figures it out.”

“Lieu. Colonel Hughes? What do you mean?”

“That’s another thing I’ll explain later, but you have to trust me. Do you?” He looks back at her with almost pleading gold eyes, hoping that she’ll trust him, because if she doesn’t, well…

Everyone knows what happens to soldiers who kill other soldiers, and that’s-

**Execution.**

With or without a trial, it was a 99 percent chance it ended with the murderer being killed. And Ed could only imagine how many other innocent soldiers got pinned for killing someone they didn’t. Sneaky bastards.

To his surprise, she grabbed his shoulder, and although she looked unwell she still put up the strong front she plasters on as a soldier. She nods and gives his shoulder a squeeze.

He could help but smirk a little at her response. “Alright, stay close, and try not to make too much eye contact with anyone.”

“Got it, Major.”

He starts opening the door, only stopping when he realizes something (And damn his pride). “Actually… do you know where South Entrance B is?”

***Break***

Hughes tapped the steering wheel repeatedly, trying to get his mind off all the bad thoughts like, _‘What if this doesn’t work?’, Or ‘What if Ed can’t get to Maria Ross in time?’, Or ‘What if Ed gets discovered? What if I get discovered?’._

He shakes his head at the last one, slapping his cheeks lightly. “No. Pull yourself together, Maes. No bad thoughts.” He said, trying to sound confident.

He starts feeling his cheeks, which was now bare of any facial hair, showing off his baby face. He glances in the side mirror, chuckling to himself at a bittersweet thought. “This reminds me of Ishval.”

He remembers being sent to war a few years after graduating from the academy, both him and Roy and along with a few others from their camp were sent there (and only a quarter of them made it back alive).

He frowns slightly. “I was so young back then.” Hughes lays back, wincing when his shoulder hit the seat. He hisses, touching his shoulder. “Fuck, those painkillers are wearing off.” He painfully looked outside the window, looking straight at the entrance. “Come on, Ed. Where are you? I’m starting to get worried.”

If it was like on que, two people walked out of the entrance side-by-side. One disguised Edward, and the other he was assuming was a disguised Lieutenant Ross. Hughes smiled, and fought off the urge to give the boy a massive hug. “That attaboy!” Soon, Ed slid back into the passenger seat, and Ross slid into the back.

“Mission accomplished.” Ed replies, holding his head up proudly.

“So, can you explain to me what’s going on now?” Ross said, looking at her boss.

Hughes chuckled, and glanced back. “Easy. We’re getting out of Central.”

For the millionth time today, her eyes go big. “L-lieuetnant Colonel Hughes?!”

“Hey, Lieutenant. I’m sorry about all this.”

“But… h-how? You’ve been alive the whole time?”

“Well, you can thank this one right here-” He points to Ed. “He saved my life, and now he’s saving yours.”

“I am so confused right now.”

“We’ll try to do our best to clear things up, but I’ll save the big stuff for later when we’re safer.” Ed replies, tossing his backpack to her. “Here, there’s some clothes that you can change into.” Her cheeks suddenly flush pink, and the boy soon realizes a slight flaw in his plan. His cheeks soon copied the same color. “I-I mean, W-we won’t look!! Just… just duck behind the seats.”

“Y-yes, sir…” She muttered, before ducking behind the seats as Hughes drove the car away.

Ed meets Hughes' gaze for a second, getting more embarrassed when he sees the man smirking. “What are you grinning at?” He hisses, quietly.

“Oh, Ed… so young. One day you won’t be so embarrassed.” Hughes whispers, patting him on the back gently.

“If you mention a wife for me, you’re dead.”

Hughes shakes his head, and they continue to cruise down the road in silence. Soon, Ross popped back into her seat, handing the backpack to Ed.

“Thanks.” She mutters, fixing the beanie on her head.

“That’s not too ‘boyish’, is it?” Ed asked, seeing her wearing a loose fitted shirt and street jacket.

“No, not at all. I’m supposed to disguise myself, right?”

“Alright, Ed, your next.” Hughes said, rolling up to a stop sign. “I’ll get dressed at the train station.”

“Right.” The boy said, before looking through the bag for some spare clothes. He starts trying to take his ridiculous tall elevator boots off, having a sense of joy to finally be free from the _pain-causing-death-traps_ , but stopped when he heard people honking and that the car was not moving.

“Um, Hughes, it’s your turn I think.” Nothing, and he makes himself look up at the frozen man beside him, those green eyes glued onto something on the outside world. “Hughes?” Ed followed his gaze, and finally saw it.

Saw _**them.**_

He saw them standing out on the sidewalk, wearing all black, with a few soldiers for escort by their side.

Ed’s eyes widened. “Hughes-”

“Gracia… Elicia…” Hughes said, choking. His family was mere inches away from him, just standing outside their house like they were waiting for his return. “They-They’re right there. I-in all black… why are they dressed like that?”

Ed could see the tears in his eyes, the other cars’ obnoxious honking was an oblivion to him. “Hughes-”

“Sir-” Ross begins, softly. She places a hand on his shoulder. “Today is your funeral, sir. That’s why they’re in black.”

“M-my funeral?” He asks, gulping down the bile in his throat. “I-I wasn’t even thinking when I turned down th-this street. It w-was just habit, I-I didn’t-”

“Hughes, listen to me.” Ed says, grabbing his arm. “Look at me, please Hughes.” He does to his own surprise. “You can see them again. You really can. But we have to figure out what the military and the homunculus are planning, and make sure that it is safe for you to come home. To them, To the Colonel, to everyone you care about. I promise you, you will see them again.”

Hughes lip quivers, as he painfully prys his eyes away from them. “O-Okay…” He croaks, swallowing again. He can’t look at them again, or he might ruin the escape plan for all of them. “O-okay.” He sobs quietly as he starts driving away with shaky hands.

Both Ed and Ross spared a glance at each other, before he ducked down to change his clothes. He changed into something that made him look more like a teenager, some ragged jeans and an oversize hoodie that screamed ‘Teen Angst’. He even ditched the glasses which he kindly stuffed back into the bag. Was it perfect? No. But will it disguise him well enough? He sure hopes it does.

Hughes stopped the car in front of the station, parking it before also changing his clothes. He ended up wearing something along the lines of ‘Business Casual’.

Ed smirks. _“Perfect. This might work.”_ He looks back at Ross, looking serious again. “You kept the bandage on, right?”

“Sure do.” She points to it before biting down on a toothpick to complete the look.

“Good.”

“You ready, kiddo?” Hughes asks, fixing his sleeves.

“Yes, Sir.” Ed pulls the hood over his head.

“Ross?”

“Ready when you’re ready, sir.” She replies with a nod.

“Alright. You two, follow my lead.”

The three of them got out of the car, and strolled right into the station, Hughes in the lead. The man went to the ticket booth, holding some cash that Ed had lent him. The woman behind the counter smiled, “Good evening, sir. How may I help you?”

“I need three tickets to Resembool.” Hughes replies, handing the money over.

“You got it, sir.” She prints the tickets, and she notices the others quickly. “Who are you traveling with? Your kids?”

“Ah, yes. My two sons and I are going to meet up with their mother. She stayed behind when I needed to go on a business trip here, but they decided to tag along.” He chuckles. “Can you believe they’ve never ventured outside the country?”

“Oh my, well that must have been quite the experience.”

“It was. I’m glad I got to spend time with them though.”

The printer chimed, and the lady handed the tickets over to Hughes. “Have a safe trip, you three.”

“Thank you, Ma’am.” He faces the others. “Come on boys, our train’s waiting.”

They all stay close, hearing the conductor call for passengers to board a train for Resembool, and hurried up. Before doing so, Hughes looked back at his ‘sons’ and grinned a bit that made Ed copy without a second thought.

 _“So.”_ The boy wondered. _“This **is** going to work.”_

***Break***

“So nothing can go right for us.” Ed said, annoyed. He said it more as a fact than a question.

They had to stop a few towns away from Resembool due to the conductor’s lack of sleep, and having a half awake driver was probably not the best idea. So, here they were, waiting at another station for a new conductor to arrive so they could get moving again.

Hughes sighed, laying the newspaper he was reading on his lap. “Relax, _Zack_ , we’re almost there.”

Zack was his cover name for the time being, and although Edward was not a very popular name, they didn’t want to take any chances with someone finding out he was the legendary Fullmetal Alchemist. That would be some bad news for all of them.

“It’s better then the train tipping over, man.” Ross said in a deep tone, slouching in her seat as she talked.

Ed raised an eyebrow at her act. She was getting _really_ into her part. He sighs, crossing his arms and looking out the window into the station. Something quickly caught his eye. “Hey, dad?”

“Yeah, son?” Hughes said, looking up from his paper again.

“Can I make a phone call to mom? You know, to tell her that we’re going to be late?”

He picked up the hidden message in his eyes, and nodded. “Sure son, be quick though. You don’t want the train to leave without you.”

“Okay!” Ed gets up and leaves, leaving Ross and Hughes alone. The two of them noticed someone diagonal from them, giving them a weird/confused look. He must have been judging Hughes’ parenting.

Ross glares at him. “What are you looking at, Punk?” The man shivers and recoils back to reading the book in his hands. She hums with pride in her skills.

“You’re scary…” Hughes whispers to her, amusingly. She ends up chuckling, the infectious smirk among the trio grew on her face.

Meanwhile, Ed moves away from the train, and away from the crowds as he marches over to a telephone in the corner. He quickly glances around, squinting in the darkness that pledge nighttime. He had two phone calls he needed to make, and tried to decide which one he should call first. Deciding that Mustang over with the easiest, he dialed his number first.

A voice was heard, and he gave his code before letting himself be transferred. To his surprise, he heard the secretary’s voice inside of the Colonel.

_“Major Elric, is that you?”_

“Um, yes. It's me. Is the Colonel not in the office, or did I dial the extension wrong?” He asks, puzzled. He was sure he dialed the number right.

_“Unfortunately Colonel Mustang’s not in the office today, but he’s in Central command right now. Do you want me to transfer you over?”_

Ed mentally slapped himself. Of course he’s not back East, he was attending his best friend’s funeral! _“I’m an idiot.”_ He shifts his stance, taking another look around. “Yes, that’ll be great.”

_“Hang on while I transfer you over.”_

The ringing begins again, along with some of the annoying waiting music he detested before he heard someone pick up from the other side.

_“This is Colonel Mustang speaking.”_

“Colonel, it’s Ed.” He replies, deciding to cut back on the teasing today for the sake of his commanding officer.

_“Oh, Hey Fullmetal. I’m surprised you called.”_

“Well, you’ll yell at me if I didn’t tell you my change of plans.”

_“Change of plans?”_

He could hear the suspension in Mustang’s voice, as he was starting to tell his lie. “Yeah, me and Al found a lead and want to pursue it. If that's alright with you, Bastard.”

Okay, he said he was going to cut back, but he doesn’t want to cut back too much or he’ll cause even more suspension.

_“Oh… yeah, that’s fine. I appreciate you calling me.”_

Ed frowns. The man on the other side sounded so… so broken and sad, something that he wasn’t used to hearing from the great Flame Alchemist.

“Hey, Colonel, you okay? You don’t sound like yourself. And what are you doing in Central?” He grips the phone tighter, preparing himself for the following words. _“This is it. This is it, he’s going to say something about Hughes, so you have to act sad. You can do this, brace yourself-”_

_“I’m just a little sad that’s all. Hughes decided he’s going to retire soon.”_

Ed froze, eyes widened. “What?” Did he hear that right? Did Mustang just…. Lie to him?

_“Yeah. He’s done. He decided that he wants to retire with his wife and kid in the country where he used to grow up. It’s a shame though, he was a good soldier, but I guess it’s probably the best for him to do so. He’s definitely a family man.”_

Ed’s grip loosened as he just stood there in disbelief. His commanding officer was lying to him, lying about a man that he got to know so well over the years, lying about his death in a way that was meant to be told to a small child. _“Is he… for real?”_

_“Fullmetal? You there?”_

He swallowed. “Yeah.” He ran a nervous hand through his hair. “Yeah, I’m here. It’s just… wow, I didn’t think Hughes would retire so young.” He closed his eyes for a second. “Anyway, I got to some rest so me and Al can start traveling soon.”

_“That’s probably a good idea. Be careful, Fullmetal. You and your brother.”_

“Yeah, Yeah, sure. Whatever. See you in the East.”

He hung up, not waiting to hear if Mustang would continue or not, but he honestly couldn’t get over the shock he was feeling right now. Confused, stunned, betrayal. These were all the other things he was feeling right now, and he was not sure which one he should pick and hang onto for comfort.

His lower lip quivered. “W-why…?” He whispers, and he wasn’t even sure if he was talking to himself or to his Boss right now.

He clenched his fists together, but it wasn’t a feeling of rage, more of a feeling of betrayal. He couldn’t believe it, he was supposed to be the one lying, not Mustang. Mustang wasn’t supposed to be lying about Hughes’ death, _he_ was. Not him.

“Why now? After all these years of treating me like a soldier, an adult, why now? Why are you treating me like I'm a kid _**now**_?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plot thickens. So many lies are happening right now, I could end up rich. 
> 
> Any theories so far? How do you guys think this is going to play out? Tell me below in the comments. And as usual, thanks for reading!


	7. Nightmares In Your Dreams And Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed, Ross, and Hughes' train ride is cut short when men in blue uniforms show up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back with another chapter! I'm so stoic about how popular this story is getting, both on Fanfiction and AO3. I even got some of my favorite authors following this story, so I'm fangirling here. So thank you everyone!
> 
> Warning: Blood, Gore, and Major Violence towards the end of the chapter. Also, a few medical scares in this chapter.
> 
> Enjoy!

__

_His bare feet crunched against the packed dirt below, his elbows brushing past branches and tree bark. Light pants with an aching side as he tries to catch up to the girl in front of him.Green eyes squinting in the fading sunlight._

_**“Sis!”** He yells, at the top of his lungs. **“Sis! Wait up!”**_

_Up ahead, she stops and smiles back. Her hands tucked behind her in a ladylike way, and her eyes, that were brighter green then his, filled up with joy._

_“How do you expect to join the military if you can’t even keep up with your little sister?” She asks, teasing him a bit._

_He stops a few feet away, taking her words in. His worn out frown turned upwards, as he straightened his shoulders, and pumped his fists. **“You’re right. How do I expect to join if I can’t even keep up. Sis, start running again, and give your all and I’ll do the same!!”**_

_She giggles. “That’s the spirit, Maes!”_

_She takes off, and he follows behind closely. Soon, with a bright light, he found himself standing on top of a flight of stairs, slightly older than before, and was frozen when hearing his parents yelling downstairs._

_“You expect us to accept that!?! Are you out of your mind?!” His father yelled, clearly upset._

_“But, Dad-” His sister begins, sounding so small and afraid._

_“No Buts! Your brother’s going to do something good, he’s going to the military! So why can’t you pick a job that’ll pay well!”_

_“But Dad, I don’t want to get a job like that! I don’t want to be a doctor or a lawyer, or a soldier. I rather be a stay home mom like I’ve always dreamed of.”_

_“So you’re not even going to have a job? That’s disgraceful!” His mother yelled, disgusted by the words her daughter was speaking._

_“I’m not saying I’m not going to have one! I’m going to need one to buy a house and stable myself until I can start a family!”_

_“Then get a real job! You’re not going to work a low class job, that’ll be disgraceful to Hughes’ family!” His Dad fires back, making his blood boil._

_**“Disgrace?”** He thought. **“We’re not even that fucking weathly to begin with!”**_

_“I’m not getting a ‘high class’ job for the last time!!” His sister replies, her voice cracking towards the end._

_“That’s it. I’m done. Get out of my house!”_

_He froze. **“Did he just..?”**_

_“What?” His sister choked, equally stunned._

_He could hear the betrayal in that one word, and couldn’t take it anymore. He ran down the stairs and rounded the corner into the kitchen where the rest of his family was. **“You can’t throw her out of here! She’s sixteen!!”** He yells, angry._

_His family faces him, and he hates the way his parents’ faces soften when they talk to him._

_“Maes, dear, I’m afraid it’s not up to you.” His mother said, with a facade of honey in her voice._

_He scowled. **“I don’t care if it’s not any of my business! She’s my sister, and you’re just going to throw her out because she doesn’t want to follow the life you planned her?!”**_

_“She doesn’t get a choice in the mat-”_

_**“I chose!!”** _

_“And you chose correctly. But she didn’t.” His father replies, sending a glare her way._

_His fists tighten some more. **“But-”** Her sister suddenly sobbed quietly and ran out the room, leaving him even more worried. **“Sis!”** He ran after her, following her up the stairs and down the hallway towards her room. **“Hey, listen-”**_

_Her bedroom door slams shut, cutting him off, leaving him once again frozen in place. He stands there wondering if he should knock, or just wait it out until she’s ready to talk. However, before he could come up with an answer for himself, she opened her door, holding a suitcase and had a bag slung over her shoulder. She was also dressed differently too, she was in her traveling clothes._

_**“Sis?”** He begins, confused. _

_She doesn’t say anything as she ventures past him, going downstairs and outside. He not once hesitates to follow closely, watching her speed walk away from the house and onto the dirt road in front._

_**“Sis.”** He calls out, but she’s not slowly down, so he turns up the gas. **“Sis, come on, talk to me.”** Still no answer, or any signs of slowing down from her. He frowns, and runs faster to grab her by her wrist. **“Patricia!!”**_

_She stops when he tugs on her arm, and she looks back with an unreadable expression. “What?”_

_**“Where are you going?”** _

_She frowns and looks away. “Out. Just like Mom and Dad wanted me too.”_

_**“But, you can’t, you’re so… young. I mean, where would you go?”** _

_She takes a minute to respond, almost ashamed at what he was going to say. “I have a boyfriend.”_

_His eyebrows shot up in surprise. **“What? You do?”** She nods. **“Since when?”**_

_“For a while now. Me and him were already planning on living together someday. I just didn’t think it would be this soon.” She spares him a glance. “Now, do you mind letting go of my wrist?”_

_He completely forgot that he was still holding onto her, and almost didn’t want to let go for a selfish reason, but did what he was asked. **“I just… this is...?”** He sighs, and runs his hand through his hair. **“So, This is it? You’re really leaving?”**_

_She nods slowly. “Yeah, I guess so.” She gives him a bittersweet smile. “I’ll write you letters, I promise. It’s the least I can do.”_

_He chuckles. **“I guess I’ll have to stay and guard the mailbox, just so mom and dad won’t get them first.”** He perks up at a thought. **“Wait, I forgot. I’m supposed to go to the academy in three weeks.”**_

_She smiles brightly, and grabs his shoulder gently. “I guess I’ll have to send them there. How does that sound?”_

_He returns the smile. **“That sounds wonderful.”**_

_She hums and gives him a hug. “I love you, Maes. Be careful.”_

_His arms snake around her tiny body, she looks so small to his now muscular form for his new job. He takes her presence in, wondering if they’ll ever see each other again. **“You too. I love you.”**_

_As he closed his eyes, the light and warmth he felt was now gone. It was now cold and dark, and his sister suddenly vanished into thin air. He was suddenly standing in a blue uniform with a white cloak, staring down at the black floor that was showered with papers. He scans the floor, reading each letter of every word, trying to find the ones he was promised. His eyes went wide and his lip quivered when he realized they weren't there._

_**“No.”** He said, shaking his head. **“This doesn’t make any sense, there has to be more. This can’t be all just Gracia’s or my parents. Where’s the others?”**_

_“The war’s over.” A familiar voice echoed._

_He gasps and turns around to find his best friend dressed in the same blood stained uniform he was wearing. Those dark eyes of the young man had many bags, and he looked so pale that it almost matched the white cloak. **“R-Roy?”**_

_“The war’s over.” Roy repeated, his voice hoarse. “You can finally go home to your girlfriend.”_

_He shakes his head again, taking a step away. **“No. No this isn’t right. I should have heard from her, I should have gotten something! It’s been years already!”**_

_Roy didn’t even bat an eye, he just started to turn and head the other direction. “Go home to your girlfriend, Hughes.”_

_**“But I don’t want to go home to Gracia yet! I’m still waiting for someone else!”** He takes a small step forward towards his friend. **“You have to help me, Roy! I need to find those letters!”**_

_In a blink of an eye Roy vanished as well, and the scattered letters on the floor started swirling around in every direction with the strong, anonymous wind. Some managed to give the poor man paper cuts as he tried to figure out what’s going on, and what he should do, but couldn’t think straight anymore. He curled into himself slightly, shielding himself from being hit in vital places as he begs for them to stop, and give him the answer he deserves. A letter soon hits him in the face, sticking to his sweaty skin that had baked in the desert sun. He couldn’t help but peel it off, and read it, so desperately wanting an answer._

_It was an important letter, judging by the the expensive smelling ink and purely white paper,_

_But…_

_It wasn’t something he wanted to read, but something he needed to know._

_He felt his eyes well up with fresh tears, and his lip quivered even more as his heart snapped into two. He starts shaking his head again, his mind filling up with disbelief. **“No….”** His hands grip the paper tighter. **“No… she can’t be. She can’t be gone, she can’t be…”**_

_“Awe, is your sister dead? That’s too bad.”_

_Once again, he was forced to turn around to face someone else, someone he’s only met once, and that was under a dire situation. His pupils shrunk as those purple eyes pierced his soul. **“En-Envy…”**_

_The homunculus grinned, and was suddenly twirling a gun in his hand. “Surprised to see me again?” He asked, laughing. “You might as well be thanking me, you get to see you sister in the afterlife. Hmm?” Another laugh. “Tell her I say Hi.”_

_The gun was pointed at him again, and he was too paralyzed with fear to move. **“B-but that’s… that’s not how I wanted to see her again…”**_

_“Well too bad.” His eyes grew darker. “Nighty, Nighty, Maes Hughes.”_

_And the gun went off._

.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.

Hughes jerked awake, hitting his head on a wall nearby. He pulled back and hissed, touching the now numb area. He could feel himself rocking back and forth slightly as he tried to remember where he was.

“You okay, dad?”

He looks to his side, and recalls where he was, which was riding on a train with his two ‘sons’. Ross was looking at him with concern, still not breaking out of a character though with that boyish voice she has mastered in a short period of time. “Uh…” He begins, straightening himself up in the uncomfortable seat. “Yeah, I’m alright. How long have I been out?”

“I’d say a few hours.” She replies, shrugging. “You fell asleep a few minutes before the train left again.”

“Before it left?” He asked, before perking up. “Wait! Did Zack come back on?”

“Oh, yeah. He did.” She points to the back of the cabin.

Hughes stood up from where he sat and took a look only to find no one there. “He’s not there.”

“He’s outside. You know, on the balcony thingy that trains have. He said he needed some fresh air.”

He raised an eyebrow, and lowered himself back down into the seat. “You said I’ve been out for hours, how come you haven’t checked on him?” He asked sternly, His inner parental skills took over.

She shrugs again. “It’s not my responsibility to watch over the little dude, and besides….” She leans in to whisper the last part, “You’re the injured one.” She could see the shock on his face, and finished off with, “Yeah, Zack told me about that, he also asked me to keep an eye on you because of it.”

Hughes frowns a little. “I see.”

“If you want to check on him Dad, be my guest. I’ll think about keeping the seats.”

That made him chuckle a bit, before standing up to leave. “I’m starting to think you should be an actor when you grow up, Justin.”

Ross smirks at the hidden complement. “Oh, really? You’ll let me do that?”

“I would, but I’ll have to talk to your mom first.” He gives her a pat on the shoulder as he passes by, before making his way through the aisles.

He swung open the door, spotting Ed leaning against the railing as his eyes trained on the things that passed by outside. He quickly noticed the moonlight reflecting off the boy’s hair that reminded him of the Flame Alchemist back home. _“And Roy says he’s not his father.”_ He smiles, and knocks on the door frame.

To Hughes' surprise, the boy actually jumped and spun around with slight fear. “Sorry Kiddo, I didn’t mean to startle you.” He replies, apologetically.

Ed relaxes, shifting to the side to make some room on the small platform. “It’s fine.” He says, watching Hughes close the door. “I thought you’d still be sleeping?”

“I would have, but uh… Bad dream.”

“Oh.” The boy started to look worried. “You okay?”

“I’m fine, really. What about you? Did you make a call to your brother and Roy?”

Those golden eyes, that seemed to be so much brighter in the moonlight, looked away as he crossed his arms. “Yeah, I did.”

The call he made to his brother was a little bit ‘lighter’ so to speak. He just told Al that the Colonel had assigned him a mission, and promised to meet him back at Rush Valley after a few weeks (He also made a promise to call him every night, so _‘Note to self, Call Al every night so he doesn’t get worried’_ ). However, the lovable charm of his younger brother couldn’t lift his spirits after the first phone call he made to his commanding officer.

To be honest, Ed felt a heavy feeling of betrayal after the conversation. Sure, he was going to tell Mustang a lie as well, but at least it was a lie about his goddamn research! A lie about his job! So when Mustang told him that Hughes was going to live on a _farm, a fucking farm,_ instead of telling him the truth, hurt him greatly. Ed was always treated as a soldier, or an adult, but when it came to a close friend’s death, Mustang had treated him as the 15 year old boy he was. Why? Did he think he couldn’t handle it? And has Mustang been lying about other things to him all this time?

 _“What else has he been hiding from me?”_ He wondered, constantly since that call. _“Can…. can I trust him?”_ A snap of someone’s finger got him out of his self induced trance that he didn’t know he was doing.

“You okay, Ed?” Hughes asked. “You were spacing out a lot.”

“Just… just tired, that’s all.” It wasn’t entirely a lie, he was really tired.

He frowns. “Ed, are you sure there’s nothing else?”

“No.” There was no way he was going to tell him about the lie his best friend just told him over the phone, that’ll crush him on so many levels. _“I’ll take that to my own grave at this point.”_

Hughes hums, deciding it probably would be the best to put it on hold (for now at least). “So, Ed, excited to be going back to your home town?”

The mention of Resembool made him smile a little. “Yeah, I am. It’s been awhile since I’ve been there.”

“Since it’s your home turf, you can show me and Ross the ropes around the place.”

Ed chuckles. “There’s nothing much to it, it’s mostly just farms. Although, south Resembool is a little… sketchy.”

“Sketchy?” He furrowed his brows. “What do you mean?”

“That’s where the main city is, lots of more residential buildings.”

“Like an Urban area?”

“Yeah, that.” He shifted his stance, leaning against the wall some more. “I’ve only been there a handful of times when I was younger. It’s definitely not a family city.”

“Oh. That bad, huh?”

“You have no idea. That’s why we’re staying in the country, much, much calmer.”

“I could use the calm atmosphere.”

“No shit. It’s only been two days and it’s been fucking crazy.”

“Hey-” He points at him. “Watch your language, son.”

Ed smirks. “Or what? You’ll ground me?”

“If that’s what I need to do, then so be it.”

He rolls his eyes. “You’re so strange.”

“Speak for yourself, Kiddo.”

“Oh, you’re-”

“EVERYONE SIT BACK DOWN IN YOUR SEATS!!” A voice boomed from inside.

Both Hughes and Ed spared a glance before heading inside cautiously, the older man going in first. Inside there were three military officers with their guns drawn, escorting people to sit back down and stay put. One of them looked up at the two of them, and gestured to them to sit down.

“You two, back to your seats.”

They both paled, and swallowed hard, but complied quickly. Their hearts were in their throats as they sat back down with Ross, who was trying to hide her face the best she could.

“What’s going on?” A passenger asked, frightfully.

“Do not be scared, we’re not here to hurt you.” A soldier said.

“For those who believed that the train was stopped because of the conductor, it was actually because of us.” Another soldier said, and suddenly it made the three of them freeze up in their seats.

 _“Oh no.”_ They thought, a dreadful thought coming to their minds.

“Why? Is there something going on?” Another passenger asked.

Another soldier, who seemed to be the one in charge, stepped forward to speak. “We’re looking for an AWOL soldier by the name of Maria Ross. This morning she ran away from being arrested for the murder of another soldier. We believe she might be on this train.”

From the corner of Hughes and Ed’s eye, they could see the terror on Ross’ stoic face, and wondered if they had any on their own.

 _“How did they know? I thought it was flawless.”_ Ed thought, scolding himself as he tried to control his heavy heartbeat.

“Please, stay put, we’re just here to look.” The soldier finishes, as they start walking around. Their eyes scanned around, walking slowly as they tried looking for their target.

The three of them prayed for them not to stop in front of them, but their hopes were thrown out the window when the leader did. It became even worse when he stopped in front of Ross. She carefully took a glance up, seeing the soldier eyeing her suspiciously.

“May I help you, bro?” She asked, keeping the disguised voice that was surprisingly not shaky.

“What happened to your face?” He asked, gesturing to the bandage under her eye.

“Uh... just a cut. I fell off my bike yesterday.”

“A cut?” He frowns. “May I have a look?”

“Why? It’s a cut.”

“The woman we’re looking for has a mole under her eye. I need to make sure that’s not what you’re hiding.”

“But-”

“I need to look.”

Ross looks at Hughes who intervenes. “ _He’s_ a boy, first of all, And he’s telling the truth. He has a large cut from when he fell off his bike.”

“The soldier we’re looking for also has short hair, sir. We’re just making sure. Please take it off.”

Ross takes another look at Hughes, silently giving him a message before complying. She slowly takes her bandage off, getting ready for a fight for their lives that was just moments away. Ed shifted slightly, and so did Hughes just as the bandage came off. The three soldiers sprung into action.

“Free-”

A metal fist collided into the leader’s cheek, sending him stumbling into his subordinates who caught him without hesitation. The false family took this small moment to bolt out of the car.

“HEY!!!” The leader yelled, his voice echoing into the other cars as they ran as fast as they could. They wasted no time to push and shove pass people, opening each door as they went from car to car to get away.

“Where the hell do we go? We’re running out of train!” Ross yells to the others.

“Not sure!” Ed replies, throwing open the final door of the passenger cars.

They three of them hit the breaks, pressing their backs against the door and walls as they braced themselves from the rocking of the high speeding train.

“Now what?” Hughes asked, worriedly. He took a glance through the glass window of the door, spotting the soldiers trying to get into the car. “Shit! They’re right behind us!”

“We gotta jump!”

“What?!” Ross yells, eyes going wide as she looks at the teenager.

“We have to! If we jump now we can head into the woods!”

The adults took a look outside, seeing the giant forest that lied in front of them. All they would have to do was jump and land on the tall grass, then bolt into the woods that was just twenty feet away from them. Simple, right?

Ross paled again. “But what about Resembool?”

“We’ll get there, I promise. But we have to lose these guys!” Ed replies, urgently.

“I don’t think we have a choice, cause in ten seconds they’re going to be here.” Hughes chimes in, quickly.

She gulped. “Guys-”

“Just jump!” Ed yells, before launching himself off the train.

“Ed!!” The teen landed, and rolled down the grassland hill, scaring the adults straight. “Oh, god.”

Hughes grabs her shoulder. “Lets go.”

"What?"

"Ross, we have to! Or you'll end up in front of the firing squad if you don't."

Those words did for her.

Ross takes a deep breath, and nods. “Okay.”

“Jump!” He yells.

The door to the outside swung open just as the two of them took their scary launch. Just like Ed, the two of them hit the grass and rolled away from the train that sped away quickly. They winced, and cried out as horrifying pain shot through their bodies as they tried to slow down. They tumbling started to vanish, leaving them in the most uncomfortable positions ever.

Hughes let out a loud groan, feeling rocks hidden under his back, and a sharp pain in his bullet wound. "Fuck…." He muttered, reaching below his shoulder. "Ross? Ross you okay?" He got a loud moan as a response. "I'll take that as a yes."

He slowly pushes himself up into a sitting position, his worried heart making sure she was indeed okay. The woman was also sitting up, hissing loudly as she placed her hand by her eye.

"Okay, now I have a cut on my cheek." She said, frowning.

"What happened?" He asked, concerned.

"I think I hit a rock when tumbling down." She starts feeling it, her frown deepening. "I think It might be deep too."

“Let me see.” He crawls on his hands and feet over towards her, peeling her hand away so he can get a better look. He squints, his eyes not quite adjusted to the darkness yet. “I can’t really see anything. Do you think you’ll be alright until we get to our destination.”

“I think so.” She suddenly looked at him with horror. “Ed.”

Hughes gasps, and shoots to his feet, wobbling slightly. “Edward!!! Ed, can you hear me?!” He yells, putting strain on his vocal cords (his mouth was so dry all of a sudden, and inchy too). He chokes and coughs harshly, immediately feeling Ross’ hand on his back. “E-Ed-Edward!”

They soon hear small footsteps, along with, “I’m here.”

Ross sighed with relief. “You okay, Ed?” She asked, squinting in the direction where he landed. She could make a silhouette of him coming closer and closer.

“Sort of…” He replies, sounding uncomfortable. “I landed on my ankle wrong.” He managed to emerge from the shadows, limping over to his friends. “You guys okay?”

“We’re fine. Just some cuts and bruises.”

“Good.” He stops, leaning on his left leg. “I think we lost them for the time being.”

“H-H-How do we g-get to Resembool?” Hughes choked, holding his chest.

Ed gives him a concern look before facing the trees. “I recognize the forest, it’s the one that outlines the town. If we head straight in and make a left, we’ll make it there in no time.”

“You’re positive? Are you sure we’ll be there quickly?” Ross asked, not one hundred percent sold on this.

“We might not make it till morning, but we aren’t far. Trust me, I’ve ridden this train many times to know the surroundings. Besides, the forest will provide us some cover.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Hughes asked, standing taller, his coughs now starting to fade.

“Lead the way, Boss.” Ross adds, smiling.

Ed nods, and went to take the lead; however, his ankle pretty much gave out under him when he took a step. “Shit!” He hissed, trying to keep his balance.

“Okay, hold on. I’ll help you.” Ross said, jogging over.

Ed started waving her off, his pride getting the best of him. “No, no, I got this, I don’t need help.” He tries to take another step which resulted in another cry.

“I’m helping you.” He opens his mouth but she cuts him off, being the adult here. “No buts.” She slings his arm over her shoulder, and he sighs heavily.

“Not _one_ word about this to _anyone_.” He warns, bitterly.

She rolls her blue eyes. “Yeah, yeah sure. We won’t say anything. Right, Mr. Hughes?”

Hughes nods, smiling at the boy’s childish pride. “Of course. What’s there to tell?”

And the three of them headed into the forest.

***Break***

The three of them trekked along the forest, brushing past the many hundred foot trees and small creeks that their newly adjusted eyes could see somewhat clearly. Fatigue was starting to hit them though, and so did the hunger that they've been feeling for quite some time.

“Should we stop?” Ross asked, shivering slightly, and it wasn’t because Ed’s automail leg brushed against as they walked. The temperature had dropped sometime when they entered the forest.

“If you guys want to.” The boy replies, his eyes feeling droopy. “Hughes, what do you think?”

Hughes took a quick glance at the moon, taking in the position it was in. “The moon is starting to go down. It looks like it might set in four-to-five hours.” He replies, his mind starting to feel like it was going unplugged (even the pain in his chest and wound were starting to feel ‘disconnected’ to him). “Ed, where does this forest end up exactly?”

“The forest? Um…” He closes his eyes to think. “Shit, it ends right before the main town in the south. I don’t really want to end up there, but we might have a choice.”

“What’s so bad about the south?” Ross asked, curiously.

“It’s just bad. Bad crowds of people.” He sighs, opening his eyes half way. “If we do end up there, let me do the talking and guiding. Trust me, these people are not exactly the friendliest.” He suddenly stops, groaning.

“What’s wrong now?”

“Just… I’m so tired. Like, I haven’t slept in years.” He touches his head, feeling it spin. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’ve been sleeping great these past few weeks.”

Ross frowns. “Maybe we should stop to rest?”

“Maybe we should.” He couldn’t believe that he was saying that himself. He was just so fucking tired, and couldn’t understand why.

“Hey, Mr. Hughes. I think we should stop for the night.” Nothing. “Mr. Hughes?”

Both the tired Ed and her looked back. “Hey, Hughes.” The man was looking in the opposite direction, his hand inside his jacket where his hand gun was. “Hughes?”

The man shushed him, and he looked around as they stayed quiet. They held their breaths when they heard some leaves crunch in the distance. The forest became eerily quiet after that, so much that they couldn’t even hear any droplets of water, or any breaths of wind.

It was quiet.

Too quiet.

Hughes used his military training and counted one whole minute to see if he was hallucinating or not. Deciding that it was probably his sleep deprived brain’s work, he starts removing his hand, which he immediately regrets when he spots two beady eyes in the pit of his darkness.

“Fuck!!” He yelled, when he realized what it was.

He grabs his gun, but he wasn’t fast enough to fire a shot to stop the beast that viciously growled, and pounced on him. He used his forearms to push back on the wolf’s chest, trying to get his salivating jaw away from his neck. He cried out as it’s claws dug into his flesh.

“Mr. Hughes!!” Ross yells, grabbing her gun as well. She was about to take aim and fire, but her plans also changed when two more bolted out of the shadows and came straight at her. She starts firing rapidly at them, both howling in pain, kneeling injured on the forest floor.

Meanwhile, Hughes cried out some more as he tried to get his flying legs to kick it off. He soon heard a clap, and someone’s palm grabbing the wolf’s face, exploding it with blue light. Blood and guts rained the air, and he sprung off with a horrible sounding howl that got lower and lower as the body dropped to the floor. Hughes stared at it in shock, watching the light in it’s eyes go out as he caught his breath.

Behind him, someone vomited heavily. “Ed!” Ross yelled, fearfully.

The boy’s name made him finally snap out of his traumatic trance, The boy was standing there with the wolf’s blood on his hands… and some on his own. Hughes ignored the pain he was feeling, and somehow got up to run over with Ross. Ed was staring wide eyed at the ground, the front of his new shirt stained in his own blood that slowly dripped out of his mouth.

Hughes cupped his face. “Ed? Ed can you hear me? Ed?”

“Is he in shock?” Ross asked, equally worried.

“I don’t know. Ed?” Instead of a reply, all they got was howling in the distance. “Shit. More wolves?”

“We’ve got to go. I’m out of ammo, and Ed’s in shock.”

He nodded (or was he shaking? He couldn’t tell at this point). “Alright, Ed, I’m going to pick you up, okay?” He almost stopped breathing then and there when he saw the boy’s eyes look white, like they were rolling in the back of his head. “Edward?”

The boy suddenly was falling backwards, his golden eyes gone as he hit the ground with blood pooling out of his nose and mouth. He started jerking side-to-side in an inhuman way.

Both adults soon realized what was happening to Edward.

He was having a seizure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! I think this might be the longest one I've written yet. And yes, I'm evil and I keep torturing our beloved characters. Sorry, not sorry. Also, Roy, Al, and some other people will be joining the story soon. So just you guys wait. Until next time, and thanks for reading!


	8. Flame Of Vengeance And The Dark Side Of Resembool (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy finally makes a decision that might put him on the line of fire. So why is Riza so upset? Meanwhile, the continuation of the forest incident with the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a small heads up for this chapter. I love Roy, he's one of my favorite characters, however, I never liked the part in the anime where he lied about Hughes death. So I decided to do something about it (meaning, I gave Roy a wake up call. You'll see).
> 
> I just wanted to throw that out there before you read this chapter.
> 
> Also, I up the rating to Mature instead of Teen just to be safe. Other than that, enjoy!
> 
> **Warning: Blood, gore, violence, and Minor animal abuse.**

****

**-Hours Earlier-  
-Central City-**

The light blue sky started to dash itself with orange, dusting those colors with its small clouds. Surprisingly, it wasn’t a gloomy day whatsoever, and he honestly wishes it was to fit the mood he was in currently. He bid his best friend’s family goodbye before trekking across the gravesite by himself. Wrapped in a black coat, a sash, and plain white gloves that didn’t bear his famous alchemy symbols, it was the only way to look professional while attending a funeral that had ended hours ago. He took his hat off and placed it under his arm as he finally stopped walking, standing in front of a grave that he still wishes was a dream.

He let a very light breeze rush through his slick back hair, as his eyes looked over the words on the tombstone, frowning at each word.

**Maes Hughes**

**1885-1914**

**Beloved Husband, Father, and Friend**

**Military Veteran, Brigadier General**

“Promoted to Brigadier General. Just for dying in the line of duty.” Roy said out loud. He wasn’t sure why though, it was almost like he wanted to tell the whole world that they took the wrong man. “You were supposed to be helping me work up through the ranks.” He frowns some more. “You got it all backwards.”

He still remembers when he told his friend his endgame after the Ishvalan War, and Hughes was more than willing to help him out with it. Now, where was his promise?

“You damn crazy fool.” He whispered into the wind.

“Colonel.” Riza said, coming up from behind.

He spared her a glance as she took a stand next to him, before looking back down at the grave. He mentally cussed at himself at the images of first seeing Edward in that wheelchair, and cussed even more when he remembers the way he yelled at the poor boy for committing the taboo. Now, he’s starting to understand what goes on in the Elric brother’s minds.

“Alchemists as a whole, we really are such horrible creatures, aren’t we?” He asked her, but mostly himself that interesting question that suddenly appeared inside. “There’s definitely a side of me that’s desperately trying to crack the theories of human transmutation right now.” He paused, that first meeting with Elrics really starting to haunt him this very instant. “I think I finally understand what drove those boys to… bring back their mother.”

Even though she had her stoic face up, Roy could feel the First Lieutenant's sympathetic gaze on him as he spoke of the worst sin that any alchemist could make. He knows he sounds a bit desperate, and a bit guilty when mentioning the brothers; But honestly couldn’t give a damn what anyone thinks of him right now.

“Are you alright, Colonel?” Riza asks, concerned.

Calling him by his title was her way of making him feel alright, and to make him feel like he wasn’t completely broken just yet. If she had called him by name, like when they're alone, he’s not sure if he’ll be standing up properly. But, he may not feel like he is broken, but he could be…

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He said, putting his cap back on. He felt his chest tighten a bit, and he knew she wouldn’t judge him from what’s about to come next. “Except, it’s a terrible day for rain.” He didn’t have to look to know that she was staring at the sky.

“What do you mean? It’s not raining.” She replies, looking back at him.

He swallowed hard, and let a shadow cover his eyes as he stared at the sky like she did. And with a voice that started to break, he responded back with, “Yes… it is.” He let his tears fall, and a small gasp pasted her lips as she perked up a bit.

“Oh… so it is.” She says, quietly. She pauses a moment before saying, “Why don’t we head back? It’s getting a little chilly out here.”

He took in a shaky breath, sounding a bit more like choking than he wanted to. “Okay…” He whispers back, wiping his cheeks clean with the back of his hand.

He turned and brushed past her, knowing she was following closely behind so he wouldn’t have to spare a glance. He didn’t want to dare to look at Hughes grave again; He’s not sure if he’ll leave if he does. He steps off the grass and onto the sidewalk outside the gravesite, walking along the path to get to where all the cars were parked against the curb. However, to his surprise, he saw a few soldiers were still there, along with Major Armstrong who seemed to still be crying. Roy spared a look to Riza who also looked just as confused as he was. Everyone should have gone home hours ago, I mean, he sent the rest of his men and some other people, so why would there still be some here?

Deciding to check it out, Roy continued his stroll over to them. “What’s going on here?” He asked, getting a handful of salutes from the lower ranks present.

“Apologizes, Sir. We didn’t see you.” A young Sergeant said, which Roy ignored.

“What’s going on here? I didn’t think anybody else would still be here.”

“We’re asking Major Armstrong here some questions.” A higher rank cuts in, a General to be exact. His eyes trailed to the distraught alchemist that was leaning against one of the cars.

“Questions?” Roy asked, wondering what got him so upset (he seemed more hystracial then earlier).

“They think Lieutenant Ross killed the Brigadier General!” Sergeant Denny Brosh replies, anger in his voice.

Roy tensed slightly. “What?”

“Yeah! They just came over and started accusing her, sir. They have no evidence!”

“We _have_ an eyewitness.” The General said, some venom in his words.

“What eyewitness?” Brosh said, not holding back. “If you have one, then let us talk to them!”

“You watch your tone with me, _boy_. And the eyewitness is classified information.”

“Classified? It’s a person! For all we know, you could be making this up!”

“What?!” The General hissed through his teeth.

“Please sir, I know it’s your job to find out who the Brigadier General’s killer was, but there is no way it could be her.” Armstrong finally spoke. “The Lieutenant adored him, why would she suddenly kill him?”

“Maybe that was all an act.” The General said, still giving Brosh a glare despite his eyes trained on the Major. “Or maybe there’s something unspoken between the two that none of you knew about.”

“But I’ve known Ross since the academy, there’s no such thing as a bad bone in her body; let alone a murderous intention.” Brosh replies, honestly.

“They’re right, General.” Roy said, and all eyes were now pinned on him. “Forgive me for being so bold, but if you’re making these statements that Lieutenant Ross is the Brigadier General’s killer, then why don’t you just arrest and interrogate her for some answers. And who knows, she could prove herself to be guilty or innocent.”

General straightened up some more, now giving Mustang a cold glare despite the alchemist’s efforts of being nice. “That would be the ideal plan. However, Lieutenant Ross is no longer at Central commands.”

“What do you mean, sir? Did she get transferred?”

“No.” He shakes his head. “I mean she’s not there. Our plan was to do exactly what you said, but when some soldiers went to fetch her, she was nowhere to be found. We even sent some over to the apartment she lives at, but it was found empty. Plus, she didn’t even attend the funeral like she said she would. She left without a word, which points her even closer to the crime.”

Roy was left nearly speechless, he couldn’t comprehend what he was saying. “But, sir… Lieutenant Ross is-”

“Oh, don’t tell me you have a soft spot for her too? For god sakes, until she’s proven to be innocent, she a fucking wolf in sheep’s clothing! Get over it, _Colonel._ ” Roy snapped his mouth shut as the General looked straight at his right hand woman. “Do you have anything to say, _First Lieutenant_?”

Riza straightened up as well. “No, sir.”

The General sighed. “Good. Now, we have search parties already sent out looking for her throughout the city, we even have some going and looking on trains that are heading out of Central.” He said, sternly. “Until all of you get your acts together, _none_ of you are allowed to join the searches. We don’t need your personal feelings to get mingled in all this.” He looks over at Armstrong one more time. “And Major, get your shit together and stop weeping over a pathetic subordinate. The military does have time for pussies.”

“Yes, sir.” The soldiers muttered, some of them following the General into the cars back to the base. Once they were all alone, Armstrong finally spoke to the Colonel.

“Colonel, you have to believe me when I say Ross is innocent.” He replies, his eyes still stinging with tears. “There’s no way she could have killed him. There has to be a reason why she vanished.”

Roy stoic face tamed down just a bit, his shoulders relaxing. “I believe you, Major. But why would she run away if she was truly innocent? Running away makes her situation look even worse.” He asked, trying to piece things together.

“I don’t know. I’ve been trying to figure things out in my head.”

“Maybe there’s something more to this than we think.” Brosh chimes in, also trying to rack his brain. “I mean, the General is clearly leaving some things out that we don’t know about. Possibly some evidence.”

“Hmm.” Roy said, lifting his hand to stroke his chin, thinking. Something was definitely odd about how they were handling this case, and it was even stranger when they mentioned that Ross had practically vanished into thin air. _“Something’s definitely not adding up here. But what?”_

“I’ll do some investigating.” He replies, making the others look up.

“You will, sir?” Brosh asked, surprised.

“I will. And I’ll start by finding out who that witness is, it should point me in the direction I need to be in.”

“But what about the General’s orders? Are you allowing your perso-” Armstrong begins.

“To hell with the General’s orders!” Roy said, earning a few gasps. His hands turned into fists by his side, and his eyes went darker even in the light. “Maes Hughes was a friend of mine, one that shouldn’t have to die so early in life. He had a family, a wife and a five year old daughter, he shouldn't have been one of the last people _not_ to come home; But instead, he didn’t. I don’t know if Ross is innocent or not, but I will find out for his sake, for his family’s sake, for my sake. I will find his killer, even if it’s the last thing I do.”

“Colonel Mustang, Sir.” Riza said, after a moment of silence. She was actually a bit stunned by his bold attitude that she didn’t think he would have so soon after the funeral.

“For now…” Roy relaxes again, and looks at his subordinates with an almost pleading look. “Lets keep this between us.”

They all nodded slowly, but had to trust the one with the higher rank to do so. Roy and Riza soon parted ways from Armstrong and Brosh, getting into the car to head back to Central Commands. Once they were a long distance from the gravesite, another envelope of silence was broken.

“Is this your new goal, Sir?” Riza asked, glancing over from the passenger's seat.

“Yes. For now it is.” Roy replies. “Since I’m going to be investigating, I’m going to ask for a transfer here.”

“A transfer? Central commands is a lot of responsibility. Do you think you can handle it, Sir?”

“I can handle it, and I know you and the team will. But I need to be here in order to find out what’s really going on. Something’s not right about all this, and I have to find out what it is, good or bad.”

“I understand, Sir. Just…”

“Just what?” He catches a glimpse of her worried expression out the corner of his eye.

“Be careful, Sir. Don’t dig too deep, you still have that other goal to complete.”

Roy smiles just as the car stops at the stop sign. “I appreciate your concern, Hawkeye. But I’ll be okay, I promise.”

“I mean it, Roy.” Riza grabs him by the shoulder to make sure he’s looking at her, which he is. “We all just lost Hughes. Don’t make us lose you so soon, too.”

She looked up at him with her pleading brown eyes, that showed a lot of fear in them that almost made him second guess himself. He smiles more softly, grabbing her hand.

“Riza. I promise I’ll be careful.” He replies, gently. “Will you remind me if I stray from that?”

“Of course. Whatever you need me to do.” She said, with no hesitation.

The car behind them honk their horn, making the alchemist sigh heavily. “I’m going, I’m going. My fucking god.”

His response made Riza chuckle a lot.

Good.

He was glad she was laughing, because when they get back to base, it’s all hands on the- _god-awful_ -deck.

***Break***

“So he just ran out of here? He didn’t ask for help?” Roy asked the woman running the phone room.

She shakes her head, wiping a stray tear away. “No. He wouldn’t let me call for a medic, he just ran out of the room. I’m assuming he went to the phone booth afterwards.”

 _“Interesting. So he must have gotten attacked before trying to make the phone call here. But why go outside? Why was he so desperate not to use the phone here?”_ Roy thought, making some mental notes. “Anything else?”

“Hmm. Well, I think he might have muttered something that the phone wasn’t ‘safe’. I’m not sure why though.” She sniffles. “Why would someone kill him? He was such a nice guy. I wish I knew more. I’m sorry.”

Riza handed the woman a handkerchief, which she said thank you for. Roy decided to ask something else, but he heard the loud sounds of one of the secretary’s heels clicking towards him from behind.

“Which one of you is Colonel Mustang?” The lady asked, sounding so tired after a long day of work.

“That’ll be me.” Roy said, turning around.

“Someone’s on the phone for you.”

He mentally sighed. Of course someone just had to be calling right now when getting somewhere with this case. “Alright.” He faces the blonde sniper. “Try to ask some more questions. I’ll be right back.”

“Yes, Sir.” Riza said, saluting.

“Follow me, Colonel.” The secretary said, waving him over. “Since the phone room’s a crime scene, I’ll let you use the one at my desk.” They walked along the halls towards the front entrance where the desk was, she then gestures to the phone laying there for him to use. “I’ll be in the back room so you can have some privacy.” And she disappears like she said she would.

Roy took the phone and brought it up to his ear, wondering who was calling at ten o’clock at night. “This is Colonel Mustang speaking.”

_“Colonel, it’s Ed.”_

He froze upon hearing his kid subordinate’s voice. Out of all the people who could be calling him at this very moment, on this very day, why did it have to be him?

“Oh, Hey Fullmetal. I’m surprised you called.” He said, truthfully.

_“Well, you’ll yell at me if I didn’t tell you my change of plans.”_

He raised an eyebrow, even if Ed couldn’t see it. “Change of plans?” He didn’t like the sound of that, and he made sure he could hear it loud and clear.

_“Yeah, me and Al found a lead and want to pursue it. If that's alright with you, Bastard?”_

“Oh… yeah, that’s fine. I appreciate you calling me.” He actually felt a bit of relief that the boy was going to be gone for a little while longer. He wasn’t quite ready to let the boy get involved (except that all went out the window by what Ed said next).

_“Hey, Colonel, you okay? You don’t sound like yourself. And what are you doing in Central?”_

Roy froze again, and it wasn’t because Ed actually sounded concerned for him. _“Damn it, I left myself open. I didn’t think the sadness was coming through my voice. Shit, I did not want to talk about this with the kid yet. Damn it.”_

Completely unplanned, and couldn’t stop himself from the biggest lie he could muster up past his lips (And make it sound so real too). “I’m just a little sad that’s all. Hughes decided he’s going to retire soon.”

_“What?”_

“Yeah. He’s done.” Roy shrugs nonchalantly to himself, couldn’t control the rest of the words that were coming out so naturally. “He decided that he wants to retire with his wife and kid in the country where he used to grow up. It’s a shame though, he was a good soldier, but I guess it’s probably the best for him to do so. He’s definitely a family man.”

Roy could feel himself becoming ill at what he just said. So much guilt crept through him just like he felt earlier in front of Hughes’ grave. _“I’m going to hell for this, and I’m not even religious.”_ He pauses his self pity when he realizes he hasn’t heard Edward speak in a while. A twinge of worry crossed him as well. “Fullmetal? You there?”

 _“Yeah. Yeah, I’m here. It’s just… wow, I didn’t think Hughes would retire so young.”_ The boy paused on the other line again. _“Anyway, I got to get some rest so me and Al can start traveling soon.”_

“That’s probably a good idea. Be careful, Fullmetal. You and your brother.”

_“Yeah, Yeah, sure. Whatever. See you in the East.”_

Edward hung up the phone almost immediately afterwards, leaving Roy slightly irritated. He sighs for the millionth time today. “Why does that boy have to be so extra?” He mumbles, placing the phone back onto the receiver.

Deciding he wanted to see if the first Lieutenant made anymore process while he was gone, he turned on his heels to do so-

A hand ran right across his cheek, making a loud slapping sound that echoed down the halls.

He stood there in shock, his cheek starting to sting as he took a look at his attacker.

“H-Hawkeye?” He said, in disbelief.

She had an unreadable expression on, and she still had her hand up like she was ready to do it again. “Sir.” Was her reply.

“Did you just slap me?!” He asked in a harsh whisper, keeping his voice low in the empty halls.

“Are you an idiot?!” She replies, her bitterness now showing at full force.

“Huh?”

“Did you just really lie to Edward like that?”

His tensed form fell, realizing she must have heard it all. Well, there was no use to hide it from her. “I did.”

“Why?! Why are you lying to him?”

“Because Fullmetal is spending some time with his brother, he doesn’t need to be dealing with this right now. Let him enjoy himself.”

She shakes her head. “Whether he’s enjoying himself or not, He needs to know. What? Are you planning on not telling him?” His silence made her realize it was indeed true. “Seriously, Colonel? How dumb are you becoming if you think that’s going to work out in the end?”

Roy stood up taller, now his anger was bubbling. “He’s a kid, Hawkeye. He’s-”

“He’s fifteen, Colonel. Not three. He’s mature enough to understand that lies aren’t always going to work on him.”

“Hawkeye, I’m not changing my mind right now.”

“Of course you’re not, because it’s about _Hughes_.”

He blinks, completely puzzled. “What are you talking about?”

She purses her lips, but still continues on. “When Shou Tucker’s daughter died, to basically sum up your words, you told Edward to ‘Suck it up and move on’. However, now that Hughes is dead, you decided to save him from the grieving in a different way, a way I finally understand.”

“And what is that exactly?”

Her eyes narrow, boring straight into his. “Because you now know what it feels like to lose someone you truly care for. You told me yourself that finally understood how those boys felt when they tried to bring back their mother, you finally empathized with them; and instead of allowing them to grieve properly, you decided it would be best to ‘spare’ them from the pain again!”

His pupils shrink, looking like he was a deer caught in a car’s headlights. “Hawkeye.”

“News flash, Colonel. Lying to Edward, lying to Al, that’s going to have consequences So you better tell the _both of them_ the truth soon before you find out what that is.”

She didn’t even let him reply, she just walked away in a fit of anger back towards the temporary office. She wanted to make sure that he would stay there and think about what she said, and hopefully, _just_ hopefully, he would listen.

***Break***

**-Present Time-  
-Outside Resembool-**

Wolves hound at the moon that wasn’t quite full yet. They growled and darted in and out of the shadows as they hunted their prey of three delicious looking people. Would their prey be able to escape them?

The so-called ‘prey’ wishes they will.

“I only have one round of ammo left!” Ross yelled, reloading the gun that Hughes had lent her. She was in charge of firing the weapon, while he was left to carry the nearly unconscious Edward. Another growl from her left, and she aimed and fired when the animal pounced out of the bushes. “How much longer till this forest ends?!”

“Not sure! Just hold on!” Hughes yelled, trying to keep the boy on his side while doing so. He’s not really supposed to be moving him when he’s seizing, but he doesn’t have much of a fucking choice! He glanced to his side when he heard the crushing of leaves before spotting eyes. “Ross!!!”

The woman swerved by him, firing at the duo of wolves that wanted a bite. They cried out and fell behind, either completely down or was limping fully, but the soldiers never looked back. They huffed and puffed, rushing past the oak trees as branches gave them whiplash. Hughes lungs started to burn, along with his claw marks on his shoulder, and the bullet wound that had started to open again. He was in so much pain that white and black spots danced around his eyes so rapidly, it hurt to look at.

“Slow down!!!” Ross suddenly yelled, holding her arm out as they both applied the brakes. Their toes stood over the edge of a very deep gully, about fifty feet down with a river below.

“Fuck.” Hughes said, looking around for another way. Of course this had to happen to them, of course it did!

“There! A tree trunk! We can go across!” She pointed to an old tree that had fallen over that had made a nice passage way over the gully. “Come on!”

The two of them bolted over in no time, Ross was eager, but Hughes was hesitant.

“That doesn’t look safe.” He said, noticing a giant crack in the middle of it. It looked like it was rotting from the core too.

“Do you have a better idea?” She asked, just as more howling in the distance could be heard.

“No.”

“Then you take Ed, and then I’ll go.”

“Ross-”

“Now, Hughes!!!”

He swallowed hard, and readjusted his grip on the teenager before making his way across. He moved quickly, but cautiously as he could, wincing when he heard the tree crackle. With his heart beat in his ears, and the raging waters below, he finally made it to the other side safely.

“Okay…” he breathed, gently placing Edward on the ground, opening up his arms to help her if needed. “Ross, come on!”

She looks back, and nods. She takes a careful step onto the log, only seconds later to be face planted in it as a wolf nawed at her foot. She cried out as the teeth sank in further, and she heard Hughes call out her name. The blue eyed woman looked back at the ferocious beast, and fired off her last few rounds. The alpha, judging by its size and aggressiveness, barley flinched when the bullets pierced its flesh.

Ross then started hitting it with her gun, trying to loosen its hold. When it did, she wiggled her other foot out from under her, and kicked it point blank in the face. It howled as it was sent back, and she wasted no time to scramble away. Her legs gave out though, her ankle nearly breaking at the ruined bone and flesh as she collided with the tree again, which unfortunately gave out as well. She shrieked, as the trunk broke and she started falling.

“GOTCHA!” Hughes screams, managing to latch his hand around one of her outstretched arms. Her body swayed towards the rocky wall, as he made sure to use all his weight to keep her from slipping. “Give me your other hand! Quickly!!”

She frantically reached for his open one, taking a few tries to grab on as he pulled her up. He sits down, making her lean into him as he holds her shaking form. They’re both panting, mostly hyperventilating at this moment as they used all the energy and adrenaline they had left to make this escape happen.

He leans away to get a look at her. “Are you okay?” He asks, watching her nod slowly with her frightened eyes. “You sure?”

“Y-yeah.” She mutters, her throat suddenly going dry. “I’ll manage.”

They jumped at the wolves growling, only feeling relieved when they saw them on the other side of the fifty foot drop. The injured and uninjured were there, hissing at them with all their hatred they could muster.

“We got to go.” Hughes said, after watching the sight. “I don’t want to stick around to see if they can fly across.”

“Yeah. But.. m-my ankle.” Ross said, still breathing harshly. She stared down at the giant bite where her ankle met the rest of her foot, tearing her shoe and pant leg. Through the heavy set of blood, you could see a bit of the bone peeking out.

He swallowed again, this time feeling like he might vomit at the sight. “You can lean against me. We have to be close to the town by now.” He starts taking Ed into his arms again, noticing that he was no longer flopping around. His worried heart made him check the boy’s pulse, that was still pretty dull. “I think he stopped seizing, but he needs a doctor. We all do.”

He leans the kid against him, freeing one of his arms just for a second to help Ross up to feet. She hissed, and took all her weight off her injured foot before leaning against him. With her hand on his back, she nodded towards him, and then they were off (Slowly, but it was better than sitting in the middle of the woods with a hungry pack of wolves).

From their guess, it was probably a half an hour before they started to see street lamps in the distance, all taking a breath of relief upon seeing it. They wobble out of the woods, landing on an unpaved road.

“Is this Resembool?” Ross asked, looking around the deserted place.

“I think so. This must be the town Edward was talking about. ” Hughes replies, pointing to a small, wooden welcoming sign near the road they were on. “Lupin Creek. Doesn’t sound so bad.”

“Yeah, but didn’t he say that this town is not really ‘family friendly’?”

“Yeah, he did.” He sighs, quietly. “Let’s just hope this place has a doctor at least.”

She hums in agreement, before they started walking off again. They passed the sign, and ventured further down the road, coming up to the buildings that the boy had also mentioned would be there. It looked like a ghost town because nobody else was outside but them.

“This is weird, Hughes.” She whispers, a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“Agreed.” He said, also getting the feeling. They both stopped only a quarter way into the small town. “Maybe we should leave.”

“Good call.”

A shotgun cocked behind them, and they both froze with dread again.

“You’ve got the count of three to tell me why you're waltzing in here at the dead at night, or you’ll be tasting some lead real soon.” Someone said, with a heavy accent.

 _“Oh shit.”_ They thought and wondered why the universe suddenly hated them so fucking much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the south side. 
> 
> What do you think is going to happen next? And do you think Riza managed to get through to Roy? Also, Alphonse will be making an entrance soon, so hold on to your horses until then.
> 
> As always, thanks for reading :)


	9. The Dark Side Of Resembool (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something's not right in the town that the trio is staying in. What exactly did Edward mean when he said it wasn't "Family friendly?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys wanted a longer chapter.  
> So...
> 
> Your wish is my command! Enjoy!
> 
> ( **Warning: Blood, Gore, Nightmares, and a Gruesome twist towards the end. If you don't like anything horror related, then this is not a chapter you should be reading. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.** )

A cold glass of odd colored water was placed in front of the nearly trembling duo, as they stayed as still as they could in the bar stool. The pub they were dragged into smelled like puke and piss; something that the owners that stood only inches away haven’t cleaned in decades. There were mounds of dust in the air, as the countertop they touched felt sticky like maple syrup.

“I called Dr. Torrez. He should be over soon to check on the little fella.” A woman said, looking older than she actually is. She smelled like smoke that probably caused the wrinkles on her face, and her graying brown hair.

She honestly gave both Hughes and Ross the major creeps. The duo spared a glance behind them at the boy laying on one of the many tables in the pub. His seizure had seemed to be gone, but the boy was out like a light and seemed to grow paler by the minute. It didn’t take a genius to tell that something wasn’t right with the poor boy.

“T-Thank you, Miss…” Hughes begins, looking at the woman.

“Abigail.” She replies, with a creepy smile. “Abigail Summers is my name. And this hunk right here is my husband, Richard Summers.”

She points to the man that stopped them at gunpoint in the middle of town. He sat across from them on the other side of the bar counter, giving them a weary glare with the shotgun next to him. He was a big and muscular man that sent an uncomfortable aura their way, making them freeze up under his intense gaze.

“It’s nice to meet you both.” Hughes continued, sensing Ross was too afraid to even speak. “I appreciate you helping us out.”

“Oh, it’s no problem at all.” She replies, a voice of sweet but bitter honey. “I still can’t believe your car broke down on your way here. They really need to start building phones that you can’t take with you. Wouldn’t that be useful?”

“It would be. It would have been better to call for help then going on foot through the woods here.”

“Oh, yes. I feel bad that those wolves came after you three. Such a shame, those injuries.”

“Yes. We’ll pull through. We always do.” He gave them a small, forced smile as he tried blocking out the pain in his shoulders. He was even too terrified to try bandaging them on his own with the trigger happy man across from him.

“Good to know.” Abigail replies, clasping her hands together. “How about I make you something to eat? You look famish.”

“S-Sure. That’ll be great, Mrs. Summers.” Hughes said, taking any chance to get at least her out of the room.

She hums and faces her husband. “Richard, help me with cutting the deli meat.” He grunts and eyes the duo before complying, reaching for his gun. “Leave the gun, Richard.”

Another grunt as he follows his wife to the kitchen in the back. They both deflated and let out a quiet sigh.

“Something’s not right here.” Ross finally said, not even hiding the cracking of her voice.

“You think?” Hughes replies, whispering. “But… who knows, maybe it’s just them. Maybe this doctor will be… less creepy.”

“The operative word right there is _‘maybe’_ , Mr. Hughes. I’m so terrified right now, I don’t even want to bend down and wrap my bleeding ankle in case something happens.”

He glances at her ankle, seeing the bleeding was starting to slow, but the overall look of it was still gruesome. He swallowed, and shifted his position again to get more comfy. “I know what you mean.”

“Do you… do you think this is what Ed was talking about? How this town isn’t… ‘Family friendly’?” She spares a glance at him, her eyes holding fear. They seemed to hold more fear than they did when she was on the train just hours earlier.

Hughes looks over her shoulder, catching the boy’s tiny chest move very slowly with each breath he took. He starts frowning when he starts recalling the conversation the three of them had about South Resembool.

“I think.. I think you might be right.” He replies, facing her again. “He did mention that this was where all the bad people were at.”

“Bad like in what?” Ross asked, her voice seasoned with curiosity. “I mean, this is no Central City, but it’s still a pretty big town. Could he be talking about.. I don’t know, gangs maybe?”

“That’s a possibility… or it’s worse.” Hughes didn’t even want to go down the possible list of crimes that could be happening in this city. He didn’t want to even imagine that’s probably sitting in a ‘dragon’s lair’ right now. He didn’t want to even _think_ about it.

Ross sighs, leaning a bit closer to really whisper even quieter. “Off topic here, but since we’re pretty much stuck until we figure out what we’re going to do, I need to know.” She begins, all business now. “How are you alive? And do you know what’s going on with Ed?”

Before Hughes could say anything, the pub’s main door opened, and along came a man with a medical bag. The short and stubby, and very hairy man started wobbling over towards them. Hughes could feel Ross stiffen a bit beside him as the man came closer.

“Mrs. Abigail called me.” Was all he said in a scruffy voice.

The duo held back the urge to cough when the horrindence smoking smell hit their noses.

 _“Seriously? Does everybody smoke a load in this town?”_ Hughes wondered.

Speaking of the devil, Abigail came out from the kitchen with two plates in her hand, along with her husband that followed her extremely close. Her face brightens when seeing the doctor.

“Oh, Dr. Torrez! Right on time for some late night dinner.” She says, cheerfully.

***Break***

Dr. Torrez hummed, before wrapping his stethoscope around his neck. “Well, there seems to be no damages whatsoever from his seizure. But I would keep him away from anything too bright for the next couple days just to be on the safe side.” He replies, looking up at his family. “As for the paleness, it’s just from all the blood he’s vomited up. This poor boy going into shock in the woods probably didn’t help either.”

“So when do you think he’ll wake up?” Hughes asked, his parental instincts kicking in a high gear.

“Best guess, probably the evening of tomorrow. You and your son just keep an eye on him for the time being.”

“Thank you, Doctor.”

“Don’t mention it. But uh… might I suggest changing his shirt at least?” He gestures to Ed’s now ruined, blood soaked shirt that looked like he was an actual human target. It made the ex-soldiers feel bad.

“I would, but we left our bags in the car.” Hughes quickly lies (they left Ed’s backpack on the train when they were escaping from the military), before the creepy woman near him clapped her hands together again.

“Oh! We can give the boy a spare shirt.” She replies. “Richard, go get one of your old shirts from upstairs.” Her husband scowled, glaring at the rest of them very bitterly.

Hughes fought back a shiver. “Oh, no! It’s okay! We don’t need a spare. Don’t waste it on us.”

“Nonsense. It’s fine.” Abigail shoos her husband away. “Go, go get one. A fetch a couple of spare blankets as well for them.”

Richard grunts, before walking through a door that says ‘Employees only’ to fetch what they needed.

“Blankets?” Hughes asked quietly, but she heard.

“Well you can’t move your poor son until he’s awake. So you three will be staying here tonight. Okay?” She flashes him an almost too bubbly smile that made his skin crawl.

“Yes, Ma’am.”

The doctor cleared his throat, silently telling the duo to sit back down again. “Alright Mr, I’m going to check those wounds of yours before I patch them up.” He replies, stumbling over like he might not be sober.

Hughes holds his hands up. “Get Justin first.”

Ross looks at him with slight anger. “Dad.” She hissed in her deep voice.

“Your injuries are worse than mine.” He replies, sternly. “Do his first, Doc.”

Torrez shrugged. “Whatever man. I’m going to treat you both anyway.” He gets down on one knee, gently pulling back the tattered pant leg up, getting a painful cry from her. He gives a low whistle. “My stars, this is the worst ankle injury I’ve ever seen! Did one of the wolves bite you?”

“Uh.. y-yeah. O-one did…” Ross winced, swallowing down another cry as Hughes threw her a look of pity.

“Not good. This might take a while to heal.” He reached into his medical bag and pulled out bandages and some rubbing alcohol. He carefully removed her shoe and began fixing it up. “I suggest you try not to walk on it too much for these next few weeks. Okay, son?”

Ross nods, not trusting her voice right now as the antiseptic starts bubbling her skin. After he was finished with her ankle (and covered the huge gash under her eye too), he moved on to do Hughes’ shoulders that had nasty claws marks in it. Hughes made sure to keep his hand over his chest where the blood rune was, not wanting it to be destroyed until Ed finds out more about it.

“Similar suggestion, try not to move around too much.” The doctor said afterwards. Hughes nodded as well as his bandages were finally tied together. The poor man could also feel his skin bubbling at the cleaning liquid. “Alright, Mrs. Abigail. I’m going to head out.”

“How do we repay you? I still got my wallet on me.” Hughes asked, reaching for his pocket.

The doctor waved him off. “No need, just doing my job. Besides, we haven’t had visitors here in a while. Remember my instructions.”

“Thank you, Mr. Torrez.” Abigail called out as the doctor wobbled out of the door. “He’s a good man.” Her face lights up soon afterwards. “Oh, Richard, you’re back.” Her husband hands over the things with a grunt. “Thank you, honey.”

“I can take those, Ma’am.” Hughes says, holding his arms out for the shirt and blankets.

She hands them over without hesitation, and gives her guests a small wave. “We’ll be upstairs if you need anything. But please, get some rest if you can.”

“Okay. Thanks again.” The odd couple disappeared behind the door, and Hughes let out a sigh of relief. _“Finally…”_

“Mr. Hughes?” Ross said, touching his shoulder. His olive eyes met her navy ones. Once again holding pity as he could see the pain in them. “C-Can you help me onto the floor? I think I’d b-be more comforting than sitting in a chair.”

“Of course. You don’t have to ask.”

He slides off his own chair, and slings his arm around her. She then grabs onto him, as he helps her slowly get off her own chair, before being placed on the ground. Hughes makes sure she keeps her right leg straight the whole time. Ross sighes, a bead of sweat dripping down her face as she rests her head against the back of the bar.

“Are you alright?” He asks, worriedly.

“I’ll manage.” She replies, closing her eyes to relax at the tiny once of comfort she had.

Hughes didn’t say anything, and instead stood up to go change Edward’s bloody shirt. While doing so, he continued to worry at the way the boy looked; So small, so fragile and pale looking. He could easily forget that this legendary state alchemist was only fifteen.

_Fifteen._

Only fifteen and he’ll now be considered an MIA soldier, and will slowly become something else until they figure out what the homunculus and the military are planning.

Hughes sighs quietly. _“He’s too young for all this…”_

He finishes changing his shirt, and takes one of the blankets and places it over him to keep him warm for the night. He then grabs the two plates full of food before sitting down next to Ross. He nudged her lightly, getting her to open her eyes to look.

“Eat. I know you’re hungry.” He replies, and he could practically see her drooling over the sandwich packed full of meat and veggies.

“Thanks.” She says, taking the plate. She immediately bites into it, chowing it down to quench her hunger. “I’m not a big fan of ham, but this is good.”

He chuckles, taking a bite and savoring the taste. He could taste the ham, but also some turkey and even chicken as well, along with some onion and lettuce and really sweet tomato. It was a lot, but it tasted so damn good.

He chuckles at a happy memory that appeared before him. “This kind of reminds me of the sandwich Gracia used to make me for work.” His smile fades shortly afterwards, stopping when his heart tightens at the mention of his wife. “Gracia…”

Ross stops as well, reaching up to give his shoulder a small, but gentle pat of comfort. He leans into it, and says nothing as they both stayed silent for a few moments.

“I know this is probably the worst time to ask, but-” Ross begins, her voice very quiet. “What happened? And what exactly are we running from?”

Hughes lets out a tired sigh. “Since we’re not going anywhere, I’ll tell you. But for this to make sense to you, I have to ask.” He spares her a glance. “How much do you know about alchemy?”

“I know enough.” She smiles at a fond memory of her own. “Remember? Me and Brosh were in charge of keeping an eye on the Major for a whole week. I learned so much just by eavesdropping on him and his brother, who, by the way, are both extremely loud talkers.”

Hughes actually smiled at that, shaking his head slightly at the thought of those Elric brothers. “Oh, I hear you.”

Ross eyes him curiosity, asking him her next question. “So this has something to do with alchemy?”

He nods. “Yeah. I’ll start from the beginning. A week ago, the brothers asked me to look over some of their research notes while they visited Rush Valley with their mechanic. I ended up finding some things… not right.”

“Like what?”

“It’ll be better if I had a map, but I’ll try to explain the best I can. Basically, I tranced a map of Amestris, and connected all the dots from every spot that there was a war/major bloodshed at, and you know what it made up?”

“No.”

“One _giant_ transmutation circle.”

She gasps quietly. “A transmutation circle? Like the ones alchemists use?”

He nods. “Yep. Exactly.”

“But… why would the whole country be one?”

“It’s to make a philosopher’s stone.”

Ross tensed and grew pale almost immediately as those words came out of his mouth. “A philosopher’s stone?! The one that’s made out of people?”

“That’s the one.”

“But… you said you connected every war to it, does that mean that the…” She trails off, already knowing the fatal answer.

“It means the Military is involved.” He finishes, frowning. “That, and some bad people too.”

“Bad people? Like who?”

“Did Ed ever mention who he fought in the Fifth Laboratory?”

“Sort of. He drew an… interesting drawing of some man.”

“Apparently the man who attacked Edward is the same man who’s working with the military. He’s also the one who killed me in that phone booth.”

She swallowed. “Killed?”

“Yeah… Killed.” Hughes suddenly finds the floor more interesting than Ross. “I died, Ross. The man, Envy, shapeshifted into you; and I knew he was an imposter, and when I went to attack him, he turned into my wife and shot me. After that, I bleed to death.”

She blinked, a mixture of confusion and slight fear, as the gears in her head started turning to make sense of this all. “But… If you died, how are you alive?”

Still not looking, he answered, “Ed did the same thing he did for his little brother, he brought me back to life.” He pulls his shirt collar down just enough to show off the seal, earning another small gasp from the ex-female soldier. “Since I still had my body, he bounded my soul back, and revived me.” He lets go of his collar. “After that, I revealed to him what I found, and we decided it would be best to pretend I’m dead so we can investigate it in silence. However, when we found out you were facing jail and possible execution, we decided to rescue you. And.. here we are.”

Ross runs a hand through her hair, knocking the hot beanie off. “That’s… That’s insane…” Was her reply. “I’m not sure what to say.”

“It’s alright, I understand that this is a lot to take in.”

“Yeah, it is. I mean, the military? Shapeshifters? Alchemy? This is… so fucking crazy.”

Hughes eyebrows shot up in surprise, never hearing the Lieutenant speak that way before. He guesses he shouldn’t be surprised given the situation they’re in. “You okay?”

“I guess so.” Ross sighs. “It’s a lot to process.” Her eyes look up at the boy laying across from her, cocking her head to the side in thought. “If Ed brought you back to live, doesn’t that mean he loses something in return?”

“Yeah. It’s the law of equivalent exchange alchemists follow.”

“Then what did Ed lose? He looks the same to me.”

Hughes looks at the boy as well, frowning again. “We’ve talked about it, and he doesn’t think it’s anything internal. He says that he feels like he’s not missing any organs, or anything like that; and we obviously know he’s not missing any limbs again.”

“So what do you think it is?”

“I…” He pauses, carefully choosing his words. “I have a hunch. I think Ed might have the same hunch I do.”

She spares a glance at him. “Which is…?”

Another pause, and there was a flicker of pain in his eyes. “I think something’s wrong with his alchemy.”

“Explain.”

“When I woke up in that phone booth, Ed had blood all over his shirt, and I know it wasn’t _mine_ because it was all over his mouth. He had even more blood on him when I woke up in the hotel room he rented, and when he got home after making a fake corpse of me, he had put on a different shirt.”

“And then there was the woods. He used his alchemy to get the wolf off you, and he threw up even more blood afterwards.” Ross finishes, piecing it together. “Did he have a seizure before?”

Hughes shakes his head. “No.” He replies. “That was the first. Although, he’s been really tired too, so I think it might have something to do with his alchemy as well.”

“But what exactly is happening with his alchemy? I still don’t understand.”

“That part I’m not sure myself. It’s almost like he has a side effect now every time he uses his alchemy. It’s rather strange.”

She hums in agreement, looking back at Ed again. “Well, if anyone’s going to figure this out, it’s probably him.”

“Yeah.” The corner of his lips turn upwards. “To think a prodigy might end up saving the country.”

“Well that’ll make a good headline.” They both quietly laughed, and ended up smiling in this gloomy pub. Ross takes her plate, and puts it on the counter. “I think I’m going to try to get some sleep.” She says, grabbing a blanket.

“I guess I should try myself.” He replies, also putting his plate up. “I don’t know how, Ross, but we’re getting out of this town tomorrow. I don’t trust this place.”

“You’re getting no complaints from me.” She lays herself down, using her arm as a pillow and shutting her eyes. “Night, Mr. Hughes.”

“Night, Ross.”

***Break***

_He felt someone tug on his arm, waking him up from his slumber. **“Huh?”** He squinted in the light that was in his eyes. He could see a silhouette of someone, someone that looked so familiar. **“Pa.. Patricia?”**_

_Her laugh gave her away, and she came closer into his view. “Wake up sleepyhead.” She laughs again and pulls him up to his feet. He watches her take a few steps away, going towards the light. She stops and faces him, her face as warm as the sun. “You coming?”_

_He looks at her confused. **“What do you mean? Where are we going?”**_

_His sister looked a little hurt for a second, before waving it off with another smile. “We’re going home together, silly? Did you forget?”_

_**“Home?”** _

_“Yeah.” She holds her hand out. “Can’t you believe that our letters finally worked? We can finally see each other again.”_

_Her aura grew brighter when she said that, and he couldn’t help but be drawn by it. He slowly reaches out, finally happy that their long awaited reunion would finally be over. Their fingers touched, but a sudden realization made him pull back._

_“Maes?” She said, the hurting look returning in her green eyes._

_**“I can’t.”** _

_“What?”_

_**“I can’t. I... I didn’t think we would meet so soon.”** He replies, truthfully. He gives her a bittersweet look. **“I thought I would see you when I was older, and my daughter’s all grown up.”**_

_“But, Maes-”_

_**“I’m sorry. But I’m going to have to decline for now. I’ll see you soon.”** It hurts, but he knows it's for the best. He spins on his heels to move away from the light, but his sister’s hand latches around his wrist and jerks him back. **“Patricia?”**_

_He takes a look back, finding a dark shadow covering her eyes. Her hand felt much colder than it should be. And he swears her skin is tinted black. What is going on?_

_“You’re going to leave me again? Why?” She asks, with a voice that wasn’t her own._

_**“Sis… you feeling okay? What’s wrong?”** _

_“You’re going to leave me again? Why? Why would you do that to me, Maes?” She looks up with reddened eyes that started to leak tears made of dark blood. “Why would you leave me? I don’t want to die alone.”_

_His eyes shrunk, and her hand turned to bone and blood. **“Sis?!”**_

_“Don’t leave me to die alone, Maes! Don’t leave me to die alone like my boyfriend did. He left me and our family.”_

_He froze, feeling a bit angry towards a man that’s never met before. However, the fear was still there. **“What do you mean he left you alone? And what do you mean ‘Our family’? Are you telling me it’s not just you and him? Sis, please answer me!”**_

_She suddenly started laughing like a mad man, and her skinned seemed to melt off as it was replaced with an all white form that seemed to glow even in the white room. Standing there and holding his wrist was no longer his sister; It was a being with no eyes, and grin that went from ear-to-ear. This being sent a new wave of fright through him, as it continued to laugh and tighten it’s hold._

_**“W-what… a-are you?”** _

_Another round of laughter, and it’s grin seemed to grow even more. “This is the law of equivalent exchange. Isn’t that right, young alchemist?”_  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
Hughes bolted upright. A few strands of his dyed hair fell in front of his eyes that felt wet with his tears. He could hear his heart beat in his ears, and feel beads of sweat run down the sides of face.

 _“A nightmare?”_ He thinks, trying to calm his breathing. _“Or was that something else?”_

He looks around to find himself still sleeping on the pub’s floor, and nowhere else. He sighs when he finds Edward in the same spot. _“At Least he’s still here.”_

“Mr. Hughes?” Ross whispered from beside him.

He looks in her direction, surprised to find that she was standing up and leaning against the bar counter. She also looks quite frightened as well. “Ross? What’s wrong? And what time is it?”

“It’s a little after 3pm. And I woke up a few minutes ago after hearing something.” Worried eyes glanced back at the kitchen behind them. “I think something’s definitely wrong here.”

“Why?” He stands up, her fear starting to rub off on him. “What did you hear?” He watches her bite her lip, before gesturing to him to follow.

He walked after her as they creeped into the kitchen, and his ears picked up on a faint sound that sounded like water dropping. It was odd, and he starts to wonder what’s wrong with the water, but doesn’t want to start questioning it just yet. She takes him to one of the corners of the kitchen, stopping completely.

“I want you to look and tell me if I’m just being paranoid.” She replies, before pointing up towards the ceiling.

Hughes’ followed her finger, taking a look. Liquid was dropping out the cracks of the old wooden ceiling, dropping on a large growing puddle on the floor. His eyes grew wide, catching the color of the liquid. He slowly held his hand out, letting a droplet fall on the palm of his hand, confirming his theory.

“Blood.” He whispers.

“So I’m not crazy?” She whispers back.

“No. But where’s this coming from? Above?” He looks up again. “Didn’t the Summers say they live above?”

“They did. Did you think something happened?”

“Not sure. I’m going to check it out.” He walks past her, opening a couple drawers before pulling out a knife. He knows how to wield one with effectiveness.

“Wait.” She says, making him look back. She too also grabs a knife. “I’m coming with you.”

“Ross, no. You’re injured.”

“And so are you. If there’s something going on with the couple, then you’re going to need back up.”

“Ross-”

“You’re _not_ changing my mind.” She held her gaze that he couldn’t possibly break. He frowns and gives in.

“Fine. Just stay close.”

They moved out of the kitchen, quieting their footsteps as they approached the employee’s only door. They both give a silent command to each other and move in. They were met with a staircase leading upwards, and they slowly walked up them, staying close. When they got near the top, a horrible smell hit their nose. They held back the urge to gag as Hughes looked at Ross with knowing eyes. The smell was strong, and it was something they knew like the back of their hands.

A dead body.

Now intrigued but also afraid, they kept moving until they were on top. They were met with a wall, and looped around the railing to go down a narrow hallway. The smell was coming from the first door, and with a semi steady hand, Hughes touched the door knob. He looks back at Ross who nodded for him to go on, and compiled. The smell hit them in the face as flies buzzed in their ears as they were met with a dreadful sight. Four decomposing bodies that seemed to be hacked and slash laid all over the small room. Blood stained the walls and it made puddles on the floor that painted their shoes.

“Oh my god…” Ross replies, horrified by the sight.

Hughes’ jaw went tight as he took a small step forward, examining the floor. _“These are so old. No wonder the blood was leaking below.”_ He silently gasps when he spots something in a bucket nearby. He kicks it over, and out comes thin cut strains of meat. He tenses. “I don’t think that was ham that we ate…”

Ross gagged, and covered her mouth, fighting off the urge to vomit heavily. And he unfortunately, was doing the same when his stomach coiled.

The Summers were cannibals that sold parts of people to their customers in the pub to eat.

It was sickening, frightening. It was truly horrifying to even begin with.

He takes a sharp inhale through his nostrils. “Okay, we’re leaving. Now.” Hughes said, ready to go-

The lights flickered on in the room, and the woman appeared before them with a creepy. “Leaving so soon?” Abigail asks, a glistening butcher knife by her side. “You can’t possibly leave yet. You haven’t even tried the ale we serve.”

“Lady, I think we’ll pass.” Ross said, backing up closer to her partner.

“Are you sure?”

“Listen, Ma’am, we’re leaving. End of story.”

“I don’t think so.” She wags her finger. “Nobody who stays overnight leaves Lupin Creek alive.”

“And why not?” Hughes asked, eyeing her carefully.

She smiles, and the duo just now notices how sharp her teeth really are. Her eyes seemed to glow with hunger. “Because, this is Lupin Creek, and everyone here is a descendant of a wolf.”

Before anyone could react, she lunged at Hughes who was close by. Abigail swung the knife, and he dodged leisurely. He managed to nick her in the side before slipping on the puddles below. He fell on his back harshly, dropping his knife while getting a kick to his gut. The woman laughed, and kept her foot on him as she raised her knife.

“Perfect deli meat.” She laughs, licking her lips.

“SICK BASTARD!!” Ross yelled as she swung the heavy bucket in the back of Abigail’s head, rendering her unconscious.

Hughes stared in surprise again, his partner stunning him with her actions every passing second. _“Oh, Damn…”_

“Abigail!” Richard yelled, coming into the room. He glares menacingly at them, cocking the shotgun in his hands. “You bitch!!!!”

Everything was like in slow motion all at once.

The raising of the gun.

The small gasp from the ex-lieutenant.

And the heart beating in the ‘dead’ man’s ears.

It was all happening way too slowly.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
 _ **“Clap your hands, young alchemist.”**_  
.  
.  
.  
.  
Hughes perked up at the voice in the back of his head.

And before he even questions it, he brings his palms together, igniting a spark. With a quick speed, he got on his feet, passed Ross and clasped his hands onto the barrel of the gun. A loud shot and gunpowder ran in the air as the barrel exploded in half.

Richard stared at the broken weapon. “What the-”

Ross smashes him with a bucket as well, before dropping it with relief. Heavy pants filled the room as they both looked at each other with concern and ease. Her eyes soon trailed to the gun, staring upon it with curiosity.

“Did you just do alchemy?” She asked, recognizing the markings on the gun.

He blinks and looks down at his palms, examining them. “I… I think I did.” He shakes his head quickly. He’ll worry about it later. “We’ve gotta go.”

“Right.”

They ran themselves out of the room, and headed straight for the sleeping teenager.

“I saw a back door in the kitchen, they may lead to an alleyway. Maybe we’ll find a car.” Hughes says, carefully taking Ed into his arms.

“Hope you’re right.” Ross replies, taking the lead.

Sure enough, there was a vehicle waiting for them. A truck that seemed like it could run for miles. She smashes one of the windows to unlock the truck from inside, before sliding into the passenger's seat, before Hughes handed over Ed to her. Since it was only a two seater, Ed had to lay on Ross’ lap (probably for the best instead of laying on the floor board).

“Wait, how are we supposed to start the truck?” She asks, as Hughes hopped in the driver’s seat. He scratches his head and looks around, before grabbing something off the dashboard. The keys. She blinks with slight embarrassment. “So… the car was unlocked?”

“I guess so.” Hughes said, a small smirk playing on his lips.

She let her head hang low. “God, I’m so stupid…” She replies. “Where are we going to go?”

“Away. We’ll travel up north and away from the forest, and maybe then Edward would be awake to tell us where the Rockbells live.”

“That’s kind of farfetch, seeing that his condition is not the best right now.”

“It is. But it’s all we got.” He looks at her, hands on the steering wheel. “Are you in?”

“Hell yeah.” She replies, almost scoffing. “Get me the fuck away from here.”

He hums in agreement as he starts the engine and pulls out of the alleyway. He then steered the truck onto the path that lead away from the forest, and up north where they hope they’ll finally be safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will the trio finally be able to have peace? Or Will something else stand in their way? 
> 
> PS: Apologize for this chapter being gruesome, but you'll understand more once Ed wakes up _(Hint,Hint: It has something to do with Ishval)._
> 
> _Thanks for reading!_


	10. Coming Together And The Aftermath Of Ishval

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy and Al start piecing things together; and Ed tells Ross and Hughes about Resembool.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Al's finally here! I've been waiting to write him in on a this perfect moment. Hope you enjoy his plot to this story.
> 
> (No warnings surprisingly)

When the moon went up into the air for the night, he didn’t care.

When the sun rose the next morning, he didn’t care.

When the sunlight shined through his window and hit in the face directly, he didn’t care.

When he looked at his calendar to find out he had the day off, he didn’t care.

When the clock chimed noon, he didn’t care.

When his mind went fuzzy because of all the alcohol he’s consuming, he didn’t care.

When Hawkeye’s words from last night echoed his mind on repeat, he _did_ care.

Her words, her expression, her tone, it all mattered and stuck to his head like a broken record he just wishes he threw out.  
.  
.  
_She purses her lips, but still continues on. “When Shou Tucker’s daughter died, to basically sum up your words, you told Edward to ‘Suck it up and move on’. However, now that Hughes is dead, you decided to save him from the grieving in a different way, a way I finally understand.”_

_“And what is that exactly?”_

_Her eyes narrow, boring straight into his. “Because you now know what it feels like to lose someone you truly care for. You told me yourself that finally understood how those boys felt when they tried to bring back their mother, you finally empathized with them; and instead of allowing them to grieve properly, you decided it would be best to ‘spare’ them from the pain again!”_

_His pupils shrink, looking like he was a deer caught in a car’s headlights. “Hawkeye.”_

_“News flash, Colonel. Lying to Edward, lying to Al, that’s going to have consequences So you better tell the **both of them** the truth soon before you find out what that is.”_  
.  
.  
He fucked up.

And he knew that the moment he lied to Edward over the phone.

He fucked up. He fucked up BIG time.

He let out a long sigh, running his hand through his greasy hair. He didn’t even bother to shower last night after he came from work, and he certainly wasn’t up for getting some sleep too. He took another sip of Aerugonian Scotch before slamming the glass on his kitchen table. He shut his eyes as his stomach growled out of hunger, yet…

He didn’t feel hungry himself.

Roy opened his eyes to stare at the murder file of his best friend he brought back with him. It had every picture of the phone booth, and had every picture of evidence they found. But, even after looking at them over and over again, none of them made any sense to him whatsoever; And that of course, was taking a toll on him greatly.

He swallowed hard, and shut the file close as hard as he could before his shaking fingers latched around it. He then let out a frustrating cry before throwing it across the room. After doing that, he completely deflated in his chair, letting a single tear roll down his cheek which he quickly wiped away.

“Damn it…” He mumbled, throwing his head back to look up in great frustration.

He stared at the old ceiling of his (supposley) temporary stay at a Military dorm room, noticing the cracks and chips in the popcorn ceiling. He almost misses the smooth plaster of his own home back in the East that was only a few hours away, but he was too tired and too committed to finding out he killed his best friend to even go home. Go home to his cozy two bedroom house, with a nice living/dining room and warm kitchen that he always drank coffee from. He missed the feeling of the oak wood floors with his bare feet, while reading a good book by the fireplace. He misses the family friendly home he lives at.

 _“What Hughes used to live at.”_ A thought crossed his mind, as a scowl formed so suddenly. 

“Damn it!!” Roy yells, slamming his fist into the table. He then buries his face into his hands with a shaky exhale. “Damn it…”

He knew he sounded so fragile and close to broke, he knew that, but couldn't stop nor help himself from doing so. His heart ached with every passing second as the memories of his friend flashed through his mind on rotation. Roy starts to wonder if this is a cruel joke, or a punishment for his wrongdoings of his past. He started to lean towards the latter on this one.

Knocking occurred at the door so suddenly, along with creaking footsteps out in the hall, it caught him off guard. He let out a groan of frustration.

 _“Why now? I do not want to deal with anyone now.”_ He thought about ignoring it, quietly muttering it too. “Go away, Go away, Go away, Go away-”

The knocking continued on what feels like forever; And on what may be the twelfth knock, he finally had the courage to go face what other things this crazy world had planned for him. He walked miserably towards the door, yanking it open without any care.

“What?” He blurted out, eyes so cold. However, those cold eyes wore off quickly when he saw who it was.

A giant silver color suit of armor.

Bright red and white soul eyes.

A loincloth that was the color of milk.

A person he was _not_ expecting, but also did NOT want to see right now.

It was the younger brother of one of his subordinates.

It was Alphonse Elric.

Roy stared in surprise. “Al-Alphonse?” He said, shifting his stance. “What are you doing here?”

“I called Eastern Commands last night, but they said that you were here in Central, so I came.” He replies in his still childish voice of fourteen. He looked around the dorm room, looking unsure with himself. “Can I come in?”

He blinked and tilted his head slightly. “Um.. yeah, sure. Come on in.” He steps aside, and Al gives him a small bow.

“Thanks, Colonel.”

Roy closes the door afterwards, before facing the child in front of him. _“This doesn’t make any sense. Why is he?”_ He clears his throat. “I don’t mean to be rude, Alphonse, but.. What are you doing here in Central? I thought you were on a mission with Fullmetal?”

Al nods, looking a little puzzled by what he was asked. “Well… I mean, it was sort of a mission that led with a dead end, but we really just went to the South with Winry.” He replies, making the older man even more confused. “The reason I’m here is because when brother called me last night, he sounded… off, and I wanted to make sure he was okay. That’s all.”

Roy holds up his hand, telling the kid to pause. “Hang on a second.” He wanted to make sure he heard that correctly. “He _called_ you? That doesn’t even make sense, you guys are supposed to be together on a lead for the stone.”

“What?” Al said. Now he was confused. “But he told me that you gave him a mission that he needed to do.”

“Al, I haven’t seen him since the two of you left with Miss Rockbell over a week ago. How would I be able to give him a mission?”

The child looked taken back by his response. Shocked even. “But… He came back a few days ago to Central.”

“Why would Fullmetal come to Central?” Roy asked, his mind being scrambled with all this nonsense. _“What the hell is going on?”_

“He came back because he wanted to talk to Mr. Hughes.”

He froze. “Hughes?”

Al nods again. “Yeah, before we left, he wanted to look over some of our research notes. He wanted to help. So Brother came back to see what he found. Although, now that I think about it-” He rubs the back of his head, which made a small clinking sound, thinking. “I don’t think he mentioned Mr. Hughes at all last night.”

“Fullmetal came _here?_ ”

“Yeah. I just said that.” He tilted his head at the pale man before him. “Are you feeling okay, Colonel?”

“When did he?” Roy asked, ignoring the teen’s question. “When did he come to Central?”

Al stops to think. “Um… three nights ago. Why?”

The Flame Alchemist felt his heart sink to the pit of his stomach, and he knew immediately that something was wrong. “Oh no…” He whispered, burying his face into his hands like earlier. “Oh no…”

“Colonel? What’s wrong?” 

“He had to know. There’s no way he didn’t.” 

“Know what?” Al asked, with a demanding undertone. “What’s going on? Do you know what happened to my brother?”

Roy bit the inside of his cheek as he removed his hands from his face. A huge frown covered it, and his broken eyes returned once more. “I didn’t want to be the one to tell you this, but Maes Hughes was murdered three days ago.” He watched the suit stiffen before him, and he could see the shock in those soulfire eyes.

“What?” Al stuttered, shaking his head slightly. “No… no, that can’t be. We just saw him not too long ago. How can he be…”

“I’m so sorry, Alphonse, but it’s true. He was killed.”

“No way. I.. I can’t believe it.” His head hung low as he tried to process all this awful information, not realizing that the man before him was beating himself up. “Colonel, did he-”

“Fullmetal knew.” Roy blurted out, but his voice was close to a whisper.

“Colonel?” Al looked up, seeing that he was close to shaking as well. He looks like he’s seen a ghost.

“Fullmetal, _no_ , Edward knew. He knew, and I lied to him.” He let out another groan of frustration. “Did I make Ed run away?”

“Hang on a second, you’re saying that brother knew?” 

“He had to know Alphonse. Especially if he was coming back to talk to Hughes. There’s no way he couldn’t. Not to mention you said he came back three days ago, which was the night of the murder.”

“B-but why would he lie to us? Why would brother tell us different stories? And why didn’t he mention Mr. Hughes to me? This doesn’t make any sense.”

Those words sparked sudden interest into the Colonel, along with confusion and many other emotions. _“He’s right. Ed’s many things, but a liar’s not one of them. So why would he lie to us? Unless-”_ Roy perks up at thought, and faces the teen again. “Al, you know your brother better than I do, so let me ask you this question. Is your brother a person who would run from death?”

Roy already knew the question, but he wanted to make sure he was hundred percent right before making the next assumption. 

Al thought about it for a moment, before shaking his head. “No, he never has. Like when our mother died, he immediately was trying to find a way to bring her back.”

“What about Shou Tucker’s daughter?” Roy asked. “I know you two went to take a breather out in the city, but did he ever plan on running away, or giving up?”

“Giving up? There was a slim chance of that. However, he never planned on running away.” Al replies, truthfully. “Do you think that’s what happened to brother?”

“Maybe. I mean that could explain why he lied, so it could buy him some time. But if you’re telling me the truth, then why would he run? It doesn’t add up.” He shifted his stance as he scratched his chin in deep thought. “And why didn’t he tell _you_ about Hughes' death?”

The fourteen year old shrugged. “Well maybe he didn’t want to tell me over the phone?”

“Then why didn’t he come back to Rush Valley for you? Why did he come up with a lie that I had a mission for him? None of this is adding up.”

“So… you’re thinking that Mr. Hughes’ murder has something to do with brother’s disappearence, correct?”

Roy nods. “Correct.”

Al hums, pausing for a second to think as well. “What do you know about Mr. Hughes’ death?”

His eyes trailed to the file on the floor, marching forward to pick it up. He then places it on the kitchen table, opening it. He could hear Al coming closer, looking over his shoulder to see as well. “This is all I have so far.”

“This is it?” Al reaches over, and scatters the photos to get a better look. His eyes scanned each and every one of them. “Got any witnesses?”

“One witness claims that they saw Lieutenant Ross shoot Hughes.” Roy replies, watching him gasp.

“Lieutenant Ross?! There’s no way she could have done that.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

“Then where is she? In holding?”

“No. She’s been MIA since yesterday, no one could find her, and she didn’t show up for the funeral.”

Al deflated slightly, losing a bit of hope. “So… she’s guilty?”

“Not exactly. The higher ups claimed they have an eyewitness, but that’s classified and won’t even tell me or anyone. They won’t even tell Major Armstrong, and he’s her boss.”

“Suspicious.”

“It is. Which is why I don’t believe it.” 

“Could brother have something to do with Ross? The timeline matches up.”

Roy perks up. “That's a possibility, I haven’t thought about that.” He sets his hand on the file, looking determined. “All I know is that someone out there knows something about all this, and somebody in this city has also seen Edward in the three days he was here. We just need to dig deep.”

“So we have two mysteries on our hands?”

“Looks like it.” He glances up at him. “This is going to get messy one way or another, but if we stick together, I think we can make some progress. Are you in?”

Al nods, his eyes holding the same determination as the Colonel’s. “I’m in one hundred percent. When do we start?”

Roy lets a smirk grow on his lips, as he is ready for business. “Now, of course.”

***Break***

Ed let a moan escape him, before wincing at his tight back when he tried to move. He could feel the light hitting his close eyes, as the smell of dirt and mud reached his nose. He could hear flies buzzing around him, and the splashing of water nearby. He had no choice to find out where he was.

“What… the…?” He mumbles, opening his golden orbs as slowly as he could. He was met with a partially cloudy sky and a bright sun overhead. He pushed himself to sit up, his black hair sticking to his cheeks as he tried to wheel his mind out of the fog. “Where in the world-”

“Push harder!” Hughes yelled out of the blue.

“I’m trying!” Ross yelled back.

Ed snapped his head where he saw a large lake at the two grown ups standing in it. They were also pushing a large object into the murky waters.

A truck.

“What the hell?” Ed muttered, coming up to a stand. He wobbled a bit, a slight feeling of lightheadedness. He quickly shook it off as he walked towards them. “What are you two doing?” He calls out when close enough. 

They both looked back at him alarmingly, before it vanished into relief. 

“Long story, we’ll explain afterwards.” Hughes said, quickly.

“Yeah. Just help us out first.” Ross replies, pointing to the truck.

Ed looked hesitant at the both of them and at the truck, before raising an eyebrow. “Did you guys commit a heinous crime while I was out?” He asked, blunty.

They both jumped with widened eyes. “Edward, What the hell!?/How could you say that?!” They replied in unison.

“Okay, Okay!” He said, waving his hands in defense. “Jeez. Sorry for assuming, but this is exactly like a scene I’ve read in a novel before.” 

“You’ve actually read a novel before, Ed?” Hughes asked, surprised. “I almost find that hard to believe.”

The boy crosses his arms in a huff. “Well… I had nothing else to read when I had automail surgery. I just finished reading all the alchemy books we had, and Al suggested I try a novel. Okay?”

“Can we just finish pushing this into the lake before we get side track?” Ross asks, wanting to get this over with.

“Yeah, sure. Sorry.” Hughes said, as Ed slips his shoes and socks off like the rest of them did. He then joined them into the lake.

They all lined up, and Ross started counting. “Alright, on three. One… two… three!”

“Push!!”

The trio used all their strengths to push the truck further into the water, making it slowly be engulfed in the depths below. Ed also caught Ross from tripping on some rocks hidden under the sand, and helped guide her out safely to the shore.

“Thanks.” She said, sitting down to put her shoes on.

“No problem.” He says, only to get a glimpse of her bandage ankle. “What happened to your leg?!”

“Wolves.”

“The wolves did this to you?”

Hughes touched the boy’s shoulder, getting his attention. “We all got injured in that forest in some way. But unlike Ross and I, you actually had a seizure after you saved me.” He replies, his green eyes holding a great deal of concern.

Ed was stunned when he heard the news, and it was showing up on his face. “A seizure?! No way!”

“Well you did. Luckily the doctor said it wasn’t too major. You were extremely lucky.”

“Yeah.” Ross said, finally standing up. “By the way Ed, we have to talk about your hometown.”

“About what?” Ed asked, only for the realization to kick in shortly after. “Wait, you said _doctor_?” He looks between them, getting a confirmation when they both nodded. “You two went into Lupin Creek?!?!” They nodded again, adding more fuel to his raging fire. “I told you two to let ME do the talking!!!”

“Well you couldn’t exactly talk when you’re unconscious.” Ross adds, crossing her arms.

“And you went to a doctor?! You actually interacted with people?!” 

“We needed a doctor. Especially you.” Hughes replies, trying to simmer the hot headed boy, but to no avail.

“This is unbelievable!” Ed ran his hands through his ebony locks in distress. “What did you do? What did you say? And did you stay the night? If so, how were we not kidnapped?!”

“Back up, Kiddo.” He holds a hand up, while raising a concerning eyebrow. “Kidnapped? What do you mean by that?”

The teen stayed silent for a moment, before heavy sighing. “Listen,” He begins, his shoulders sagging. “Resembool… it’s… it’s not exactly what you think it is. I mean yes, it’s a farm town, but it has its ‘moments’ so to speak.”

“Like what?” Ross asked after seeing how serious he was being.

His gold orbs looked between them, with a tiny pinch of pity. He sighs again. “Look, what I’m about to tell you, don’t take it personally, okay?”

Hughes spared a glance at the other adult, before nodding. “Okay.”

“The reason I didn’t want you guys going into the city was because…” He looks away for a split second. “Well, it’s because of Ishval.”

“Ishval?” The faux blonde man asked, a sense of old memories starting to wash over him.

“Yeah. You soldiers weren’t the only ones who were impacted by the war.”

“Explain.” Ross said, speaking up after sensing Hughes’ discomfort. He wanted to know, you could see in his eyes, but his throat was closed up from the flashbacks he was having.

“When the war started, the military needed money for funding of weapons and other things for it. They turned to cities and small towns to give them some money by taking a chunk out of what civilians made from their jobs.”

“But… this country already has taxes that they have to pay, and the military is allowed to use that money. Are you telling me they needed more?”

“Yep. They needed more money to get more items to fight with.” Ed tilts his head with slight confusion. “Did you guys seriously not know any of this?”

“We were soldiers, Ed.” Hughes replies, voice cracking a bit. “We didn’t ask any questions, We just did our jobs and hoped that we came home alive.”

“I guess that makes sense…”

“So the people of Resembool are obviously upset about all this, right?” Ross asks, starting to piece it together. 

Ed nods. “Correct.” His face falls as memories of his own flooded in from years ago. “I remember faintly my mother crying about all this, as she told my _bastard_ father that she was afraid that we might lose the house; And let me tell you, we were close.”

She frowns, and she could see Hughes was too. “The South was hit the hardest, correct? But why?”

“South Resembool is a little…” He pauses to think of a good word to use. “ _Wild_ … So to speak. They were never big fans of the military to begin with, and after the whole war thing, that really pissed them off.”

“So that’s why you were so keen on talking to them alone, they hate the military.” Hughes replies, a bitter feeling about all this. “And you knew how to talk around them.”

“Correct.” Ed says. “I just didn’t want you two endanger because of your status. There are rumors of soldiers, and anyone with connections with the military, just disappearing out of thin air, leaving no traces behind.” 

“Damn. That’s brutal.”

“It is.”

“Well, the townsfolk just eat the people, so that’s why there are no traces of them.” Ross muttered, getting shivers down her spine at the gruesome thought.

The fifteen year old froze in his tracks, as he snapped his head towards the ex-soldier. “Did you say they _eat people_?!”

“Yeah. I rather not get into details about it though.” She gags as she tries to somehow erase those images in her head.

“Well I definitely didn’t know that.” He holds back the urge to gag himself, and luckily, his mind wanders back to the truck they pushed into the lake. “So, may I ask, what’s with the truck?”

“We stole it.” Ross said, nonchalant.

“You say that so bluntly.”

She shrugs. “Hey, I’m technically already a ‘criminal’, so stealing a car I guess is my forte now.” 

Ed looked dumbfounded, and turned to face Hughes for any answer for this. His reply was just a simple shrug as he slipped on his shoes, and walked away. _“Hughes, seriously? I expect this from the Colonel, but from you? You’d be the last person who allows this kind of behavior.”_

“So where are we going now?” Ross asks, gesturing to Ed to follow Hughes out of the woods. 

Ed slipped his shoes back on too, before running to catch up to the rest of the small group. The three of them wandered back onto the dirt path that was the road, stopping to think of their next move.

“If we go left, that’s where we came from. So we have to go right to get to the Rockbells. Right, kiddo?” Hughes said, facing the teen.

“Correct. I recognize this part of the town.” Ed replies, after taking a good look around. “We should be there by sundown if we don’t stop too much.”

“Alrighty then.” He clasps his hands together with a smile. “Let’s get moving. We’ve got work to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got any theories? If so, I would love to hear in the comments below :)
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	11. Truth's Master Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Truth talks to his "roommate", and the trio soon arrive at their destination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this took so long, this one was difficult to write some reason. It's not my best chapter, but I hope you like it.
> 
> And happy holdidays!
> 
> **(Note: If you've read my other story, "Saving Someone Comes At A Price", don't worry! The other chapter will be out as soon as I can. Also, more artwork will be added soon to this story.)**

A finger tapped repeatedly against the darkened floor, quietly humming to itself with a slight nod in it’s head. It eyed the giant and broken gate in front of it, large gashes and cracks running up the tree like symbols carved upon it. It plaster on a smile that soon turned into a huge grin with such mischievous intent behind it.

“So how long are you going to keep this up until he notices?”

The being paused its tapping, before sparing a glance over to another gate, only this time the gate wasn’t in an all black room, but a white one. Truth suddenly let its grin grow even wider. “Oh, he’s noticed the changes, but doesn’t understand what they mean yet. But don’t worry, Young alchemist, he will soon.”

The body sitting by the gate, raised a high eyebrow that was nearly blocked out by his overgrown golden bangs. He was also staring with slight suspicion too. “So it’s only the beginning?” He asked, concernedly.

“Yes.” Truth hummed. “The next stages of the gate side effects should be happening soon enough.”

Amber eyes morphed into a glare, and spat venom in just a single word. “Great.”

“And what about you, huh? Have you gotten in contact with your soul yet?”

He frowned, crossing his arms. “No. I have not.”

“Awe… such a shame that you haven’t yet.” Truth said, a mixture of sarcasm and honestly.

“How do I know you’re not just pulling my leg? Can I really have my soul back after all this time?”

Truth suddenly laughed, it made the whole room shake uncontrollably, slightly scaring the other figure present. “Well of course! You boys can have anything back for the amazing show your brother’s putting on for me!” It said, throwing his arms into the air. “And once your soul is back in your body, Young Edward can have his arm back, or even his leg for that matter, I don’t care.”

“And what about the equivalent exchange deal?” Al’s body asked, once again suspicious by this being’s words. “Does that matter even any more?”

“It matters, it doesn’t matter. I really don’t care anymore.” Truth said, talking with its hands carelessly. “However, it’s still an equivalent exchange. Young Edward has pretty paid for all the damage he’s done in the past. His third exchange was enough to pay everything off.”

“Except you didn’t give him a choice the last time! My brother doesn’t even know what he’s lost, and how it's affected Mr. Hughes.”

“True…”

“You really are sick and twisted. This is like a fun game for you. Meanwhile, my brother is practically dying because you didn’t bother telling him what he’s lost!!”

Truth chuckled, and looked fondly at the boy who’s been trapped here since age ten. “My, My, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so feisty. I was starting to think you didn’t have it in you.”

“Don’t act like you care, I know you don’t. I’m just another entertainment piece.” He hissed through his teeth.

“That is also true.”

He let out a low growl, glaring some more. “Since we’re still on this topic, tell me, how is this still an equivalent exchange deal? Ed still has to pay the price for doing a soul-call, so how is it all balancing out exactly?”

“Good question, and the answer is…” Truth held up one finger, smiling. “Family.”

He blinked, replying with a puzzled expression. “What?”

“Family. It’s the equivalent exchange deal between Young Edward and the soul he called back to the owner’s body. I thought it would be nice if Young Hughes started seeing dreams of his past again, reminding him of what he’s lost all those years ago.” Truth shifted his sitting position, the grin only growing even stronger the more he spoke. “Meanwhile, Young Edward grows tired and weak, and needs someone to take care of him while he’s down, and that’s where the parental man comes in, right?”

Al grew even more skeptical, as the harshest and coldest look he could make flashed on his pale and bony cheeks. “Truth, you’re not going with this where I think you’re going…” He trails off, sounding very angry.

Truth hums quietly, thinking his words over carefully. “Perhaps. But come on, who doesn’t love a family reunion?”

He smashes his fist into the ground, creating a loud sound that echoed off the walls of this strange place called the gate. “DAMN YOU, TRUTH!!”

The being didn't even bat an eye at his outburst as he still watched with a sense of fondness. “Oh, did I strike a nerve?”

“Shut up! This is not how our mother would have wanted to meet her family! This is fucked up!”

Truth tilted it’s head a bit in a mocking way. “Is it?”

“Yes!”

“Oh….” It shrugs. “Oh well.”

“Damn you.”

“You should be happy, you’ll be meeting blood relatives that you didn’t even know about. You should be thanking me.”

Al bared his teeth some more, and darkened his glare. “I’ll thank you when _you_ fix my brother.”

“You know that’s not how it works.” Truth pointed out. “Young Edward is the only one who can fix himself. Remember?” The blonde opened and closed his mouth quickly, making the being chuckled again. “Now, Young Alchemist, I’m going to give you some advice that I say from the bottom of my non-existent heart. _FIND_ a way to get in contact with your soul, because the longer you wait, the shorter your brother’s lifespan becomes. Find your soul, and free him from his other taboo. Got it?”

Al pursed his lips as his jaw tightened noticeably, letting the gate keeper’s words sink in before nodding. “I understand.” He says, just above a whisper.

“Good.” Truth says looking away, getting ready to back to his humming when he was bombarded with a question.

“Even if I get my soul back, Ed still is going to die isn’t he?”

“Don’t know. All I know is if he gets his limb back, and is free from basically ‘sharing’ his body with you, he’ll be okay for a while. Maybe he’ll live longer.” Truth spared a glance at Al for a split second, before staring off into the dark void ahead of him. “Although, I’m not sure what will happen when Young Hughes starts using his gift of alchemy without a transmutation circle. Because just like you two brothers, both him and Young Ed are now bound together with a blood rune. So who knows? Maybe it’ll affect your brother, maybe it won’t.

“Whatever happens, I can’t wait to watch it.” It suddenly started cackling hysterically, making Al’s blood boil, but said nothing. “FIND YOUR BODY, YOUNG ALCHEMIST! FIND IT! AND MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, YOU BROTHERS WILL FINALLY BE FREE!!!”

The laughing continued to echo between gates, and seemed to never stop no matter how much time passed. And Alphonse started to wonder…

What did he do to deserve all this?

***Break***

“Is this it?” Ross asked, as the three of them stopped at the bottom of a pathway. It had a cobblestone wall running up beside it, and it went all the way up to a two story house that was the color of buttercup and avocado.

“It is.” Ed replies, his eyes squinting in the last droplet of sunlight, the skies starting to etch itself into midnight black.

“Do you think she’ll really help us?” Hughes asks, his forehead was drawn with worry lines. “We’re putting her at risk too you know?”

“I know that.” The boy continued, swallowing heavily before he straightened his shoulders. “But this is all we got. This would be the last place somebody looks at. Besides, when Granny was younger, she was someone who was on the… other side of the law.”

Both soldiers frowned at his wording, and immediately eyed him weirdly.

“Ed-” Hughes begins, not liking the sound of this.

Ed held his hands up in defense, noticing their expression rather quickly. “I know what you’re thinking, but she’s not like that anymore, trust me. All I’m saying is is that she’ll be useful for any misfortunes later on. That’s all I was trying to say.”

“Just checking.” Ross replies, eyeing him closely, which made him sigh.

“Look, I know you’re soldiers, but you can’t think like one anymore. We’re outlaws.” He stops to pause for a moment, pondering a thought. “Well… two outlaws and a ghost. For starters-” He points at the woman. “You’re technically on the run, or AWOL for that matter.” He then pointed at Hughes. “You’re supposed to be dead, and I've probably been reporting MIA by now. I just hope Al hasn’t heard that last part yet…”

He whispered the final part of his sentence that was meant more for himself, but the two adults heard it crystal clearly and frowned even harder. Everyone knows how close the brothers are, and it was no doubt that Ed lying to him was eating him upside (they made a mental note to keep an eye on the boy, and talk to him about it later).

The Elric was the first one in the lead, and everyone followed him up the path where the house got bigger and bigger, casting a darker shadow over them as the sunlight tucked behind the horizon. The adults read a sign laying against the stairs that said, ‘Automail, Rockbell’. They followed Ed up the stairs, and watched him knock on the door a few times. A dog’s barking was heard on the other side, along with a voice and footsteps as they waited for her to arrive. The door soon swung open to a slightly irritated older woman.

“What do you want? We’re closed. Can’t you see it’s night time already?” She said, shaking her fist.

Ed, who remained unshaken by her underlying threat, just smiled bittersweetly. “Hey, Granny. It’s been a while.” He replies, gently.

Pinako took a moment to check him out, but nothing could fool her with those unique sundrop eyes. “Ed?” She said, relaxing. “What happened to your hair, boy?” She soon eyed the people behind him, and tilted her head. “And who are they?”

Ed let her questions linger in the air for a second, before scratching the back of his head nervously (a habit he seemed to not be able to break). “Listen, Granny. Do you remember when I told you I bounded Al’s soul to a suit of armor, and you were helping us get through it?”

“Yeah…”

“Well-” He bit his lip for a split second, his eyes wandering away from her to Hughes. “I might have done it again, only this time, a little more... successfully.”

Pinako looked at the faux blonde man who complied to what Ed was hinting at. His fingers soon latched around his shirt collar, pulling it down and passed the bandages on his shoulders, and showing off the unique blood rune on his chest. She stiffened at the sight, her memories coming back from over four ago.

“Oh dear…” She muttered, stunned as her gazed return to the teenager. “Ed, what did you get yourself into this time?”  
.  
.  
.  
 ***Break***  
.  
.  
.  
“I see. So you’re all officially outlaws now?” Pinako asked as she relit her pipe. She had moved them all to the living room where they just finished catching her up on everything.

“Yes.” Ed said, fiddling with his hands nervously in his lap.

“And you want me to help you stay hidden?”

“Yes, if that-”

“Ed, do you understand what you’re asking me?” She said, looking at the boy intensely. “Harboring basically a criminal and a supposed dead man? Do you understand what this all means? The risk that I’m in?”

Ed’s hands tightened together, as his golden orbs became glued to the floor. He felt his chest clenched with guilt at what he just asked his friend’s grandmother to do. “Yes… I..”

“Ma’am, may I please speak?” Hughes cuts in, breaking through the tensed air in the room.

“You may.” Pinako said.

“Look, I want to apologize for barging in here like this. And I don’t want to cross any line here.” He sits up a bit straighter, a sense of certainty in his eyes. “If you need us to leave, we understand. I don’t want to endanger you, or your granddaughter if she comes back.”

“I can see you’re actually telling the truth. I can see it in those eyes of yours.” She replies, before taking a long drag from her pipe. “Tell me mister, do you have a family?”

Hughes nods immediately. “Oh yes, a wife and a daughter.”

“I see. So tell me, does your family trust you?”

“Of course they do. Especially my wife.”

“And do you trust them?”

“Yes, with all my heart.”

“Okay then, answer me this question.” Pinako stares into eyes, silently telling him not to look away. “If you trust them as much as they trust you, why don’t you go back and tell them that you’re alive? Why don’t you go back and they keep your living life a secret? What’s stopping you?”

“Granny-” Ed begins, frowning at the interrogation his friend was getting.

“It’s okay, kiddo. I understand.” Hughes said, holding his hand up to get the kid to stand down. “Listen, the reason I didn’t want to go back is, I don’t want to put my family in danger.”

“Explain.” Pinako urged with a flick of a wrist.

“I work for the military, and I always knew there would be a risk of them getting hurt by it, however _this_ is different. I can’t risk my family to whatever _this_ is, whatever the military or secret force is planning, I _cannot_ let them in. I won’t let them get hurt or worse, I won’t let myself live with that kind of guilt.” He finishes, bowing his head. “So please, I understand why you're hesitating, and if you’re still unsure about letting us stay here, we’ll leave without any strings attached. I promise you that, Ma’am.”

“I feel the same way strongly, Ms. Rockbell.” Ross adds, bowing as well. “We’ll leave if you need us too, but if you let us stay, I promise you we’ll do anything you ask us to. If you need us to do chores, or even go out grocery shopping we will. Just give us your honest answer, and we’ll do what we’re told.”

The room soon became etched with heavy silence, and everyone held their breaths for the woman of the house’s answer. Pinako took another long drag from her favorite pipe, before putting out and setting it aside. She hopes down from the chair and wanders closer to where the other adults were.

“I can tell that you two are telling the whole hearted truths, I see that now.” She replies, as they still continue to bow their heads. “I was just worried for my dear Winry’s safely, but she isn’t here now, and probably won’t be home for quite some time. So I’ll hold you by your words. You’ll help me around the house, and you’ll help me run my business as well for as long as you stay here. Do I make myself clear?”

The two ex soldiers raised their heads in shock, before nodding in compliance.

“Thank you, Ma’am.” Hughes replies, smiling.

“Yeah. Thank you, Ms. Rockbell.” Ross says, joyfully.

“You’re very welcome.” Pinako said, before walking back to sit down in her chair again. “I’ll make the beds in the guest room in a minute. But if you don’t mind, I’d like to speak with Edward in private for a moment.”

They nodded again, standing up and excusing themselves out of the room, sparing Ed a glance of ‘good luck’ for whatever was waiting for him.

Pinako chuckled to herself, admiring the boy’s new look. “I have to say, I didn’t think such a dark color would suit you so well.”

Ed chuckles too, grabbing the top of his messy bun. “You think so?”

“I do. It brings out your eyes.”

He felt his cheeks flushed at the complement. “Uh… thanks, Granny.”

She hums, before letting a tired sigh pass her lips. “Oh, Ed. What have you gotten yourself into this time? I mean, another taboo? Saving two people lives? Fighting the whole country over a transmutation circle? Are you out of your mind, son?”

Ed’s shoulders sagged, and with more guilt filled eyes he looked away. “Yeah… I might be…”

Another sigh. “I swear, sometimes I think you have a bigger heart than your brother.”

He blinked and snapped his head around to face her. “Huh?”

“You’re always helping people, I admire that in you, and it’s something you should be proud of.”

“But…” He shakes his head, confusion written all over him. “But I committed the taboo again! I’m an outlaw! I’m… I’m fighting the whole country, and you’re okay with it?”

“Not okay. I’ve just accepted it. I’m still not a hundred percent sold on ‘fighting the whole damn country’ thing, but if you think it’s the right thing to do, I’ll let you do it.” She said, a small smile forming as she spoke. “And Edward, you saved two people. You saved the both of them from an uncertain death.”

“But the taboo-”

“You saved your brother like that years okay, and even though you bound his soul to a suit of armor, you still saved him. And I can tell you, Al is truly grateful for what you’ve done for him, regardless of what you think. I know this Hughes fellow feels the same way too, and same goes for Ross as well.”

“You really think so? Al’s not… mad at me?”

“Of course not. He’s just happy he gets to spend his life with you, even in a bodiless form.”

Ed suddenly smiles brightly, straightens up again. “Thank you for clarifying, Granny, I appreciate it. I also appreciate that you’re letting us stay here.”

“Don’t mention it. I’ll do my best to make sure no one finds out you're here.” Pinako replies, before waving him off. “Why don’t you head off to bed. It sounds like you had a rough couple of days.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.” He hops to his feet, a sense of exhaustion overcoming him quickly as the bed was practically calling his name from way upstairs. “I can’t wait to sleep. I’m dead beat.”

“Ed?” She calls out, making him stop.

“Yeah?”

She seemed to take a moment to choose the next few words, but he remained patient. “This Hughes fellow, did you see anything… familiar about him?”

He cocks his head to the side, raising an eyebrow. “Familiar? How so?”

“Oh well… hmm…” Pinako scratches her chin in thought, before quickly dismissing it. “Ah… nevermind. You get some sleep.”

He was quick to shrug it off out of exhaustion. “Uh, okay.” Ed turned on his heels, and called out to Hughes and Ross who were standing in the kitchen to come out. “Hey guys, let me show you around the house as Granny gets some fresh sheets!”

From the chair she watched the three of them walk up the stairs to the upper level, the youngest giving them the ‘grand tour’ of the Rockbell residence. While doing so she continued to scratch her chin, her mind crawling back to the conversation early. Her mind flashes the man’s expression, holding onto it as she studies it with curiosity.

 _“I don’t why-”_ Her thoughts begin to stir. _“But those eyes, that expression in them, it seems so familiar. Where have I seen them before?”_

***Break***

Ed let out a sigh of relief as he finished wrapping the towel around his waist. Hot steam filled the small bathroom, almost like it was dubbed as a sauna as well. He stretched his back and sore arms, enjoying the scorching shower he just took, and so desperately needed.

“Ah! That felt amazing!” He told himself, a grin plaster on his face.

As Granny fixed their beds up, she ordered them to take showers before doing so, and everyone happily complied (not like they were ever going to say no to a luxury like this).

He pushed his nightshirt to the side, and rang his hair out a bit more in the sink before wiping away the fog on the mirror. He hummed sadly noticing a few bruises on his cheek from when he jumped off the train just yesterday. He soon noticed a few scraps on his body as well, and sighed miserably.

 _“I’m a mess.”_ He chuckled, and soon found himself playing with his midnight locks again, fascinated with the color. _“I do look good in this color.”_

He smirks and remembers the compliment he was given earlier, and starts to wonder if he should stick with this color even after this whole Military/ homunculus war is over. He even starts to wonder if a certain blonde might like it. He finds himself beat red over the thought, and shakes his head fiercely to get rid of it.

 _“She’s my mechanic! What I’m I thinking?! Stupid, stupid!”_ He slaps his cheeks, and tries so desperately to wheel his mind away from it, but he kept looking at his hair in the mirror. _“Damn it. I’m pathetic.”_

Another sigh with another heavy look, only this time he spotted something out of place. He started squinting, and leaning in closer to his reflection. His hands touched the strains of his hair, looking closely at the color.

 _“Did I miss a spot?_ ” He wonders, thinking he’s seeing a blonde patch near his bangs, so he moves even closer. He finds himself gasping quietly, realizing that it wasn’t his natural color, but something else.

_“Am I… going gray?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got any more theories? Tell me below.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	12. Start With The Beginning, End With The Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy and Al start their investigation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off I would like to apologize on the delay. I had some personal stuff that came up, and for some reason I had writer's block on this story. But I'm back, and I'll be making longer chapter too.
> 
> More artwork will be coming soon too.
> 
> Enjoy!

Two sets of very different footsteps etched closer and closer to the previous crime scene, one who wore an oversized black coat, while the other walked around in a casing of metal. The adult of the duo soon stopped in front of the red booth, the yellow police tape now gone along with all the blood that used to stain the ground.

“Is this it?” Al asked, his voice holding back a tiny bit of shake.

“Yes.” Roy replies, a steady hand opening the door up to get a better look. “Hughes tried to call me from this phone booth just before he died.”

“From the phone booth? That seems odd. Was he working the night he died?”

“He did.”

“Then why didn’t he call you from his office? Or from the phone room like he always does? Why did he come out here to make a call?”

“My thoughts exactly.” Roy scratches his chin, before squatting down to get a better look. He then starts pointing at the right corner of the booth. “Now, from what the police told me, they said that his body was laying here before the witness showed up and dragged him to a nearby hospital. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it because of the wound.”

Roy crooks his neck back, looking up at Alphonse with puzzled looks as he continues speaking, “Now, I’ve been shot once in my life, and depending on where you get hit, depends how much blood you lose. I’ve seen the autopsy report, and he shouldn’t have been bleeding as much as they said he was.”

“What do you mean by that?” Al asks, trying to follow everything to the T. “Where'd he get shot?”

Roy quickly stands up, patting his chest, right above his heart. “Here.” He says, looking more serious. “Now I’m no doctor, but I know for a fact that there’s no major blood vessels there. And although it may look like it’s close to his heart, it’s not. So there’s no way he could have nicked any viens either, so my question is where did all this blood come from? It could have just been from Hughes himself?”

“Could the murderer have been hurt?”

“Maybe. But it’s still too much in my opinion. Unless…”

“There was a third candidate?”

Roy snaps and points proudly at the boy. “Bingo.”

“But who? The witness you were telling me about said that he only saw Ross.”

“Then who knows, maybe it was only two candidates. Maybe it was Ross, or maybe the witness was hurt as well. Or maybe it was your brother.”

“But my question is why Ed though? Why was he there?”

“Don’t know, but that’s why we’re going to Central Commands.” Roy says, gesturing him to follow him along the path to base.

“What’s at the command center?” Al asked, jogging to catch up.

“Whenever a soldier shows up for work, they have to sign in with a clipboard. If we can get a look at it, then we can see if Fullmetal was there that night.”

“And if he’s not?”

Roy feels himself frown, his stomach aching with the idea of it. “Then your brother never showed up for work to meet Hughes, or he never showed up in Central.” He replies, truthfully. _“I really hope it’s not the last one. I don’t want to know what happened to Ed in these last few days alone.”_

The flame alchemist could sense the worriedness in the child next to him, and there was no doubt that Alphonse didn’t want that to be true either.

The two of them walked along the moat around the base after exiting the small park, and Roy fished out his watch to the two men guarding the gate. He was wearing just civilian clothes today, no uniform because he was supposed to have a….

What did they call it?

A mental health day because of his best friend’s _-suspicious-_ death.

“Greetings, Colonel Mustang, sir.” One of them said, saluting. “I thought you were off work today?”

“I am. But I need to get something from one of my subordinates before I have to head back East in a few days.” Roy lies smoothly. “I can’t leave without it.”

“Understandable, sir. Have a good day.”

The two of them follow back into step, going up the long flight of stairs and up into the main building. Al stayed quiet, watching as his brother’s superior officer’s face went from all business to a massive grin. If Al could raise an eyebrow he would have at this odd state the Colonel was in. In a nearly empty hallway, the raven haired man went straight for the front desk, leaning against the counter in front of the brown hair secretary.

“Hello, miss… Becky, was it?” Roy greets, being very boisterous.

The green eyed woman looked up, checking him from head to toe with a strange look. “Um.. who are you?” She asks.

“I’m Sergeant Torrez.”

“Torrez?” Her forehead came etched with worried lines. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard-”

“Never mind my name.” He waves his hand in the air carelessly. “Listen, Miss Becky, General Raven is looking for you. He says it’s urgent.”

She perks up. “General Raven?” She stands up, bowing her head slightly. “Thank you, sir.” She starts hurrying down the hallway. “I swear these men forget they can just summon with a simple phone call…”

Soul foul eyes blink, and face the only adult present. “Wow. You’re good.”

“Thanks. Now let’s see what’s on this clipboard.” Roy says, reaching over the counter and grabbing it. He starts flipping through the pages, eyes scanning each signature. He soon finds himself frowning again. “That’s odd. Fullmetal Isn't in here. He’s not any of these days.”

“So he never showed up for work to meet Hughes, like he said he would?” Al asks, becoming worried again.

“Yeah.” Another round of scanning, and he finds himself gasping quietly. “Hang on a second.”

“Colonel?”

Roy finds himself gripping the board a bit tighter. “The night that Hughes died, Ross was never working that day.”

“What? Really?” His armored body shifts uncomfortably as he tries to make sense of it all. “Then why did the eyewitness say that Lieutenant Ross was the killer? This doesn’t make any sense.”

Roy flips the papers close, and sets the clipboard back where it belongs. “None of this is making sense. Why would Ross be considered the killer? And where exactly is Fullmetal in all this?” He starts scratching his chin in deep thought. “What’s going on?”

He lets the wheels turn fast, and Roy tries to remember key details into solving a case, trying to remember every detail in this one also. Another tiny gasp, and his onyx orbs widened. “Follow me again.”

“What? Where are we going?” Al asks, finding himself racing after a fast pacing Colonel.

“I remember the name of the hospital Hughes was taken to, it’s not too far from here.”

“But why are we heading there?”

“Because, I think I know how Fullmetal fits into all this.”

*****Break*****

“I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t release classified information to a stranger.” The man working behind the desk said, for a millionth time.

Roy, who seemed to be getting fed up at this point, also repeated what he was saying _again_. “And I’m telling you, I’m not a stranger, I’m his friend and coworker from the military. Isn’t that enough?”

Goddamn these hospital staff sometimes. It was like pulling skin and teeth at this point.

“Friend or not, I’m not allowed to give you his file.” The man continues on. “I’m not even allowed to give it to his family until 90 days are up.”

“That’s ridiculous. I bet you didn’t give this kind of trouble when the military was on the case of his death.” Roy snaps back, frustrated with the whole thing.

“Exactly that, sir.”

A short pause past before he leaned forward a bit against the counter. “What if I say _I was_ on the case?”

The blonde man raised an eyebrow. “Yeah. Not convinced, sir.”

Roy groans and lets his head hang down low, just as Alphonse gave him a comforting pat on the back. This was getting absolutely nowhere. He just wanted to take a look at the file. _THAT’S it._ Stupid hospital policies.

“Maybe we should try something else, Colonel. This is obviously not going anywhere.” Al suggested, sensing that their mission was going to end up a failure.

“Maybe you’re right.” Roy replies, raising his head with a defeated look on his face. He sighs. “Let’s go.”

The door to the back rooms opened, a man with black graying hair came in with his own clipboard. “Hey, Timothy, I’m looking for-” The words die in his mouth upon locking eyes with the soldier and the child alchemist.

The room got stiff, and the sudden tension could be cut with a knife. It had also gotten so quiet that the people present swear they could hear people talking in the back rooms. Roy straightened up, his face morphed into surprise.

“Dr. Knox?” The raven haired man said, his voice holding shock.

“You know this guy?” Al asked, quietly from behind. His question was left unanswered, just as this Knox person faced the man behind the counter.

“Is there a problem?” He asked, his eyes looking away from them.

“These two are trying to get their hands on a patient’s file. Maes Hughes.” The man replies.

“I see.” Knox straightens up as well, the shine in his glasses blocking out the emotion in his eyes. He soon finds himself sighing. “Well, I was the Doctor who found and tried to save Mr. Hughes. So what’s the problem here exactly?”

Roy’s face turned serious and almost dark as he took a few steps closer to get mere inches away from Knox’s personal space. “Did you?” He asks, his voice low and intimidating.

“Did I what?” He asks, raising an eyebrow.

He leans in closer. “Did _you_ find him?”

Knox shifted slightly, his face giving away his surprise. “You mean you don’t know?”

“Know what?”

Knox’s dark orbs trail to the desk worker, finding that he wasn’t paying attention anymore before looking back at Mustang. “Follow me.”

*****Break*****

Knox sat down in his desk after shutting his office door, quickly taking a sip of his lukewarm coffee. “I was honestly surprised when the newspaper posted that Maes Hughes was dead. He was always a good and smart soldier, so I thought he would have escaped it.”

“You knew Mr. Hughes?” Al asked, intrigued by this new found history.

“I did. I was a surgeon for the military for a while before I quit.” He takes another sip, and Roy finally had enough of beating around the bush.

“Cut the crap, Knox.” He cuts in, crossing his arms. “I thought you said you found Hughes at that phone booth? So why are you saying that you found out he died from a newspaper? And what’s this about me not knowing something?”

Another long sip before setting the coffee mug down. “You might want to take a seat, this is going to come at a shock for the both of you.”

“I rather stand.”

Knox sighes, leaning forward to rest his elbows against the table. “Alright, I didn’t find Hughes, in a matter of fact, I was nowhere near that phone booth that night. I had a shift here, and it ran later than usual, and it was way past the time of his ‘death’.”

Roy raised an eyebrow, skeptical about the whole thing. “Then why did you lie about taking Hughes to the hospital here? And why are you using quotation marks?”

“Because, right as my shift ended and I was heading for my car, a boy came up to me and asked if I knew you. I said yes, and asked why, but didn’t give me an answer. Instead, he told me he’ll pay me a lot of money to declare someone dead. And that someone was Maes Hughes.”

The two alchemists stiffened and gasped at this news.

“What?!” Roy said, dumbfounded by what he was hearing. He soon starts shaking his head. “No, no, no. He’s dead, I read the autopsy report and everything. A point blank shot that went all the way through, there’s no way he’s alive.”

“Listen, I’m just going off what this kid told me, and nothing else.”

“But… how?” His coal eyes looked to the floor as he tried to make sense of it all. His emotions started to go all over the place, and his mind raced for some kind of answer for this crazy tale.

“This kid, what did he look like?” Al asked, his hopes starting flaring up.

Knox stopped to think about it for a moment. “Uh… short, blonde hair that was pretty messy. A slivered colored right hand…”

“Colonel, that sounds like brother.”

“So Fullmetal was really involved? I thought he might have been the eyewitness. I guess not.” Roy replies, honestly. _“Now that I think about it, could the higher ups be making up the witness like Sergeant Brosh suggested?”_

“Dr. Knox, did my brother mention that Hughes was alive?” Al continues, trying to get the pieces of this story to match up.

“After he explained the details about the lie I needed to tell everyone, yes he did mention to me that he was, but I needed to keep it a secret. As to why though, I’m not sure.” Know replies, giving all the information he could recall. “But he did seem pretty panicky that night, like he wasn’t supposed to be in my presence or something.”

“Panicky? That doesn’t sound like Fullmetal.” Roy says, trying to remember a time Ed actually looked scared. “Did he ever mention something about a Lieutenant or a Maria Ross at all?”

He shakes his head. “Sorry, don’t recall.”

 _“Damn. I feel like I’m back at square one now.”_ He thought, running a hand through his midnight locks. _“Why would Ed be there and want to declare Hughes dead? And how did he survive being shot like that? And where’s Ross at?”_

“My brother-” Al begins, getting the adults attention. “What did he look like that night?”

Roy’s forehead becomes etched with a worried line as he stares at the thirteen year old boy. _“What’s he doing?”_

Knox scratches his stubbles on his face, thinking. “He was pale, very pale. Like he hasn’t seen the sun in weeks. There was dry blood in hair and around his mouth which was odd, but he couldn’t give me an answer when I asked why.”

“And the body, Hughes’ body. Did brother transmute a fake one by any chance?”

“With alchemy? No, he did not. There was a John Doe at the coroner’s office that had a similar wound to what the kid was describing that Hughes’ had, we just used that guy’s body instead and told the officials it was Hughes. Why?”

Al shifted greatly, the stance telling them that he was terrified of what he was being told.

“Al?” Roy said, looking concerned. “What’s wrong?”

“I think I know where brother fits into all this.” He replies, and faces Mustang with soul eyes of horror. “But I need to go back to the crime scene if I’m going to be so sure.”

“Okay, let’s go then.” As Al opens the door, Roy faces the doctor one last time. “Thank you, Dr. Knox. I appreciate it if you can keep this between us.”

“I promise the kid I would too.” Knox said. “And Mustang?”

“Yeah?”

“Find that kid, will ya? There’s something… off about him. I can feel it.”

Roy nods, and leaves. _“Will do. He’s my subordinate anyway.”_ As he steps into the hallway, he notices how fast the suit of armor was walking. “Hey, Al! Wait up!”

Roy chases after him, both their pacing quicking as they soon were both running back to the scene. “Alphonse! Slow down! Why are you going so fast?!” He yells, the wind rushing through his body. _“What the fuck’s got him so worried?”_

They started applying the breaks when they were finally face to face against the infamous phone booth. Mustang frowns and watches as Al gets on one knee to look inside closely. Metal fingers brushed the walls and floors, his body getting tenser by each passing second.

“Al, what’s going on? What’s got you so high strung?” Roy finallys asks, getting more worried. He didn’t like how silent the boy had gotten.

“It all makes sense now. Why there was so much blood, the bullet wound that Hughes got, and how Ed fits into all this. I finally understand.” Al replies, his voice offly quiet.

“And what is it?”

“Remember when I asked about the body, and Dr. Knox said that they used a John Doe?”

“Yeah?” Roy says, nodding. _“I already don’t like where this is going.”_

“I started thinking, why didn’t Ed make a fake body? It wouldn't be that hard if you have the right ingredients. So why didn’t he do it? Unless…” Al asks, looking back at the Colonel with serious eyes. “Hughes really did die that night.”

“But Knox said that Fullmetal told him Hughes was alive? So what are you suggesting exactly?”

Al looks down at the phone booth again, his hands also moving across the walls. “Alchemy leaves markings when you use it, correct? Well there’s tiny bits of traces on these walls. Come see.” He moved aside a bit, so the Colonel could squat down also to look.

Roy leans in close, catching the tiniest glimpse of it. It was nearly microscopic, but it was there. “Why would Fullmetal fix the phone booth?”

“But he didn’t. He wasn’t trying to fix the booth. There’s only one type of alchemy that can send tiny shockwaves when in use, and it’s something me and him did a long time ago.”

And it finally clicked in his head, and Roy let his eyes widened for a second time today. “Al… you’re not suggesting what you think you are?” But the boy looked dead serious. _Way too_ serious for this to be a joke.

“I think Hughes really did die that night, and Ed brought him back to life. That’ll explain all the blood here, the reason he looked so pale, and why he couldn’t make a fake body.” Al continues. “Human Transmutation does take a lot of people, and who knows what he lost.”

Roy lets himself roll with the silence that suddenly found its way back to them, and for the first time in a long time he felt a sudden fear for his subordinate, his friend, and whoever else was involved in this. He places a hand over his mouth, eyes still big as he just stared at the phone booth, wondering what was really going on with this now bizarre case.

 _“Ed…”_ Roy thought, feeling himself grow ill over it. _“What did you do?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The trio, along with Pinako, will be next :)
> 
> Thanks for stopping by!

**Author's Note:**

> Small little prologue, but it's just to give you readers a taste of what's yet to come. What do you think is going on? Tell me what you think below. See you soon, and thanks for reading.


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